Adventures in Gaia
by RedPanda07
Summary: A boy is sucked into his television set and ends up in Gaia. Being a part of a large prophecy, he has to travel with Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Steiner, and others to save the world from Queen Brahne and put Garnet on the throne to make the world a better place.
1. Prologue

I had just turned off my Sony Playstation after seeing the credits of Final Fantasy IX on my television. It was about half past 1 in the morning. I lay in my bed and turned on my Nintendo DS Lite and began to play _Radiant Historia_, but suddenly the face of Zidane showed up on my television. I cautiously walked up to it and reached for the power button. When my index finger was on the power button, a deep, monotone voice spoke out. "Don't you dare," he said. I ignored his warning and pressed the power button. Instead of the screen going blank, a vortex appeared. The vortex seemed to pull me into it. I tried stopping myself from falling into vortex my putting me hands at the edge of the television. My hands slipped due to the increasing force and entered the vortex. At once, my whole body was sucked into it.

* * *

When I regained consciousness, I was staring up at the sky. The moon shone brightly over head illuminating a shape of a castle. I sat up and glanced around. People with different colored skins and animal body parts dodged me and cursed me out. Half of the people on the streets were drunk. A kid dressed in patched up clothing and rat ears rand over me. I sat dazed until a kid whose face was a black as night with baggy pants ran over me, then tripped. He stared back at me and I stood up. I offered my hand to him, and he accepted. I stood up and stared directly into my eyes. There was a feeling of emptiness in his eyes. Even though I am a man, I could say that he awfully adorable. He was wearing a blue jacket tied by his neck and large belt underneath. His pants had green stripes down it and That kid seemed awfully familiar.

"Vivi?" I asked. His eyes seemed to widen a little bit.

"How do you know my name?" he asked. His voice was kid-ish and curious.

"Never mind," I said to him.

"Okay," he replied and chased after that rat kid. I had a thought about where I was. I thought that I was in Alexandria, _inside _Final Fantasy IX.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Play

I looked around the town square once again and looked at the buildings. Most were made out of bricks, but some were wooden. Groups of people came out of multiple taverns with drinks in hands, mumbling curse words. I ignored them and notice a ladder put up to repair a sign. I climbed up the ladder and stood up on the top. I jumped on to a building's roof and ran toward a large noise. Is a jumped across buildings and ran across planks that led to the noise. When I reached the very last rooftop, Vivi and the rat kid were climbing down a very large ladder.

I looked at where the noise was coming from and saw a large group of people. They were all facing an acting stage. I looked to the right of the stage and saw a large woman sitting in a chair. I squinted at her blue face and bored look. "Queen Brahne," I muttered. Two people were standing next to her. I man dressed head to toe in silver armor and had a large sword drawn. He had no emotion on his face and stared blankly into space. The other person was a woman. She had a broad sword and an eye patch over her left eye. Her mahogany hair curled at the end.

"Beatrix and Steiner," I said, remembering them from the very first cut scene of the game. I climbed down the ladder and hid behind the crowd. Two people appeared on the stage. One had on a patch over both his eyes and no shirt on. The other guy was in a vest and white tank top. He had a belt with was appeared as a gun holder, but a dagger was in it instead. He had what appeared to be blue jeans on and black boots. "Blank and Zidane," I said to myself. I was truly in the world of Final Fantasy IX.

Zidane and Blank began their performance of _I Want to be Your Canary_ and I forced my way through the cheering crowds. I got to the front row when Blank and Zidane just finished the fighting sequence. Soon the knight I saw next to Queen Brahne, Steiner, came rushing onto the stage. He drew his broadsword and began attacking the two. A Bomb came down behind him. Zidane said something to Blank, showing that this was not scripted in their play. Blank and Zidane began yelling at the Bomb, provoking it to come closer and closer. As I looked more closely, they were trying to get the Bomb to explode on Steiner. The Bomb floated curiously closer and closer to the point of the knight's helmet. As soon as the top of the helmet touched the bottom the bomb, it exploded. The wave of the explosion pushed the audience backwards. The audience, including me, stood there dazed. Steiner sat there looking up at Zidane and Blank.

"Don't mess with our play," Zidane said. His voice was the average 16 year olds'. It was still cracking, but was deep enough to know that he was male. He punched his clenched fist into his open hand looking angrily into Steiner's eyes. Zidane then disappeared backstage. In his replacement, a blue haired pig man came out. "Baku" I mumbled. They continued the play with Baku out on stage. After about a half hour since Baku appeared, a hooded girl rushed up onto stage. She had a white cloak on with red around the ends of the sleeves and hoods. Zidane stood behind her, panting. It became even more chaos when Vivi, the black mage, rammed into Zidane. Zidane stumbled into the girl and was pushed into the line of Baku's sword. The sword sprouted from the other side of her, bloody. The audience gasped. The girl fell down, her hood falling back, revealing the girl's pitch black hair. Her eyes on her beautiful face were shut, and she was not breathing. Vivi ran around the girl and stood there. He stepped back about four paces and pushed out his gloved hands. His eyes shut and sparks came from his finger tips. The girl's jacket lit on fire. Her eyes shot open and she jumped up and danced around. She stood up and threw off her jacket. I looked to the right of the stage again to see if the Queen's reactions were the same as in the game. I was correct she stood up, enraged. She called on her Knights of Pluto to go and seize the girl. Before I knew it that Knights of Pluto were sliding down the banners that led to the stage. They all landed in front of Zidane, Vivi, Blank, and the girl. Their helmets shaded their eyes and they had their swords at the ready. I had to do something. I acted like the gamer I was and jumped onto the stage.

I stood between the group and the Knights of Pluto and yelled, "Run, guys." They headed to the back stage and hit a sword out of one knight's hand. I grabbed it and sprinted after the group. I entered the room that they were in. Zidane closed and locked the door behind us. They all stared at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Who are you?" Zidane asked.

"I'm Leo Fujikawa. I guess you won't believe this but you guys are actually what is a called a video game. IT is on an electric system that can play disks in which you interact with characters through a controller." They stared at me for a while and burst out laughing. I decided to laugh with them. They would never understand or even believe me.

"That's a good one," Zidane said, still laughing falling back in a chair. "I'm-"

"You're Zidane," I interrupted, pointing to him," Vivi, Blank, Baku, and Garnet."

"Wow, so you know our names, but do you know our full names?" Blank asked. His voice was rough, dry, and scratchy.

"Why?" I asked him.

"Just for fun," he replied.

"Okay. You are Zidane Tribal, Vivi Orunita, Garnet Til Alexandros 17th, Blank and Baku don't have last names."

"Wow, so you do know us. Welcome to Tantalus," Zidane said, shaking my hand. The whole ground began to shake and I almost fell over. Garnet lost her balance and fell into Zidane's lap. _Ugh, so this is what happens off screen in the game,_ I thought. We all rushed up to the deck to see what was happening. The stage was actually a ship. It was the _Prima Vista_. We were floating above the roof tops of homes and shops when another Bomb approached us. Garnet was looking down upon the townsfolk of Alexandria when the Bomb approached her. Zidane ran up and grabbed her. He dragged her back near the door leading below deck. I quickly grabbed a dagger from his belt and rushed up to the Bomb.

I jumped off the edge of the ship latching onto it. I forced it to stay still as I dug the dagger deeper and deeper into its flaming, hollow face. The monster screeched in agony as it began to explode. I quickly removed the dagger from it and let the blast of the Bomb send me flying back to the _Prima Vista. _I landed on my side, slamming my head into the floor of the deck. I began to feel dizzy and couldn't stand. _Oh, great,_ I thought. I had heard that when they have a heavy impact on your head and feel dizzy, you have a concussion. That's just what I need. First being teleported to the world of Final Fantasy IX and then a concussion. Yay! (sarcastic) I slowly got up and Zidane headed over to me. I put my arm over his shoulder and walked me inside. "Can I have my dagger back?" he asked.

I chuckled and handed it over. The hilt burned my hand after I had it inside that Bomb. Garnet felt my forehead. She looked at her hand and I did too. A crimson liquid traced the edges of her elegant finger tips. "You're bleeding," she said. Garnet had the most beautiful voice. It was smooth and calming. It was a chorus of angles singing. "I'll get that fixed up."

"Zidane set me on a chair and went through another door. Garnet grabbed a bandage and a bottle of clear liquid. She poured a little of the clear liquid onto my wound. It seared and hissed. "What is that?" I asked her.

"Apply-on potion," she answered while taping a piece of gauze on my wound.

"How many types of potions are there?" I asked her.

"Only the two," she replied, "Potion and apply-on potion." Zidane burst into the room. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"There was a slight error in one the propellers," he answer between gasps for air.

"What is the error?" I asked him.

"It's gone," he answered quickly. He put his hands on his knees and inhaled deeply, catching his breath. Suddenly, My feet began to lift off the ground. "And now we're falling," Zidane said, irritated. The three of us drifted up toward the ceiling. Garnet grabbed onto Zidane's arm and then to mine as my feet hit the ceiling.

There was a large _BAM_ and we started to fall. I pulled Garnet above me to cushion her fall. She landed on me and the wind was knocked out of me. I opened and closed my mouth, trying to inhale. It was useless. After a couple of seconds of not breathing, I was able to inhale. I was panting and sweating. I stood up slowly, my back singing with pain. I strange, eerie fog had come into the _Prima Vista_ since we landed. I led the way out side where everyone else was standing. Large trees surrounded us and water was settled in puddles on the ground. I trail of uprooted trees were behind the ship showing where we crashed. I large flow of smoke poured from the engine room. A moogle was sitting at the base of a tree. It had curled beige hair with its little hairy red orb curved down in front of its face. Two people walked out of the ship. One was Baku and the other was a new person. He had a red bandana on his head. The edge of it was right above his eyes His ears were pointed like an elf's and he wore a belt around his blue vest. He had blue lines down his arms as which I couldn't tell were tattoo or were natural. One sharp tooth sprouted from his lower lip from the left side of his face.

"Where are we?" Zidane asked.

"The Evil Forest," I answered.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Forest

Marcus was still supporting Baku as her looked around. I looked at the tried more closely. There were knots in their bark that appeared as eyes. They knots followed you no matter where you stepped. I went over to the moogle sitting at the base of the tree. "Where exactly are we in the Evil Forest?" Garnet asked.

"I have no clue," he said, shrugging his shoulder. He was looking away as he said it so obviously he was lying. Zidane grabbed his shoulders and pinned him on the tree. "Zidane," Garnet began.

"Tell me the truth!" he yelled.

"Okay, okay," the moogle said. He voice was surprisingly deep. "You are on the outskirts of the main source of the forest."

"Thank you," he said, setting the moogle on the ground. He walked off to Baku. A small explosion came from the top of the ship. Vivi came stumbling out. "I'm okay," he said, coughing. A large shadow passed over us. A terrifying scream echoes through the trees. Garnet covered her ears and collapsed to the ground. I rushed to her and helped her stand up. "You okay?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. She stared up at the sky where a giant green orb was floating. It glowed in the night sky and gradually grew closer and closer. As it got closer, I could tell that it wasn't just an orb, it was a monster; a monster that, if I remembered correctly would take Garnet and knock her out. The monster landed on the _Prima Vista_ and jumped down closer to us. It screeched once again. Zidane tapped my shoulder.

"Here," he said handing me one of his daggers. I gripped the hilt tightly and readied myself. I looked over at Garnet. She had a staff that she must have had with her. I stood up and faced her. "How did you-"

"Magic," she answered. I turned back to the monster as it was about to swing one of its long, green, spiky arm. I strafed and kicked it out of the way. Zidane leapt for it and lodged his dagger into the side on the monster's face, green blood spilled out. It roared in anger and pain. Garnet hit the monster upside the head which didn't do much damage but angered the green plant even more. It was my turn to try defeating it. I dodged one of its arms and cut it off in one fluid motion. The other arm came toward me. I ducked throwing the monster off balance and threw the dagger into its left eye. I took the two daggers out of the monster and jumped back. I quickly recovered from my leap and ran at it once more. Shouting as I jumped I twirled in the air as to hit the monster with the left dagger first and the right one in sequence. The monster dodged one but I slightly caught its mouth with the other. I dangled from the green plant as it stomped around in fury. I felt Zidane's dagger slipping inch by inch from the mouth. And then, I fell.

I woke up on a cot in the ship. I sat squarely and asked, "what happened?'

"Well, Garnet, Zidane, and you were fighting a huge green monster. You were knocked out, and Zidane failed while he was trying to protect Garnet," Blank said. He was leaning on the door way with his arms crossed.

"Wow," I said, shocked.

"You sure get knocked out a lot of times," Zidane said. He was on the cot below me with his legs crossed.

"I guess I do," I replied. I jumped off the bed almost falling when my legs hit the floor. Zidane stood up. "I know how this story goes," I told him. "Do you want to get Garnet back?"

"Yeah, but-"

"There' no time," I began, "go and get Vivi, tell me where I can get a weapon."

"Go talk to Baku up in the engine room," Zidane yelled as he went to get Vivi. I ran up the creaky wooden spiral staircase. I turned down a couple of long halls until I could hear repetitive cursing and some sort of metallic clangs. I opened the door and saw Baku standing there scratching his blue hair on the top of his head with a wrench. "Hey, newbie, what could I do for ya?" he asked.

"I need a weapon," I told him.

"What for?" he asked, hitting the engine once more with his wrench. A cloud of black smoke erupted from the engine.

"We are going to get back the princess. She was captured," I answered.

"They're in the closed behind me. While you're here, would you give me a hand?" he said. I nodded. "Give this spot a real good kick," he instructed and pointed the wrench to a spot where the large fissure started. I turned my right foot inward and snapped my foot toward where he instructed. The machine moved making the sides of the fissures closer now. "Thanks, kiddo."

"No problem," I said. I walked into the closet behind him and grabbed the first katana I saw. I ran out the door and out of the _Prima Vista_ and met up with Vivi and Zidane.

"What weapon you got there?" Vivi asked. I looked at the sheath. I leather coating with the Tantalus Theater Group insignia on it. I drew the iron blade. The hilt was wrapped in smooth silk and was in the shape of a dragon head. The eyes shone green and as I looked closer, I saw it was actually an emerald inside of the eye socket.

"Well, let's get goi-"

"PRINCESS!" A large yell bellowed from the side of the ship. A man in silver armor crashed out the deck and onto the ground. It was Steiner. He landed face first with his legs bent up in the air. He jumped up off the ground as dew his sword. He raised it over his head and exclaimed, "I am Adelbert Steiner! Princess Garnet Til Alexandros 17th's captors will be executed by the almighty Queen Brahne!" I stood there confused at him. "Where is the princess? You killed her didn't you!" he said pointing at me.

"I would never hurt a girl," I said to him, "I swear!"

"How 'bout you, thief?!"

"Hey, Rusty! Do you research before you go accusing people of murder or other crimes!" Zidane replied to him.

"Fine," he replied sheathing his sword. "Where is the princess?"

"A monster captured her," Zidane answered. "We were just going to find her."

"I'll come with you!" he exclaimed. "Just, don't talk to me." He looked disgustingly at Zidane.

"Just be sure to keep up with us, Rusty," Zidane said running off through the trees. I chased after Zidane tying the sword to one of my belt loops on my blue jeans. I straightened out my blue jacket and ran faster. A large _Sploosh_ came from nearby. I rushed straight ahead and saw Zidane sitting face first into a swamp. He raised his soaking face out of the water and mumbled, "Ow." He fixed his blond, parted hair and stood up. C'mon! He said. I jumped into the water and waded through the algae filled swamp. A loud screech came from up ahead, and it was close. We climbed out of the water onto a small patch of grass. Steiner's armor clanked loudly behind us and he screech to a halt.

"Quiet, Rusty," Zidane whispered. Vivi stumbled in behind him. I peered over the edge of that appeared to be a bowl. It was completely made of vines and in the center was that giant green monster. It flew off leaving the princess behind. A loud aching traveled through the ground until a red plant emerged. Its four pedals opened up to reveal its green insides and it was just about ready to lift the princess up and began chowing down on her. Zidane yelled distracting it and jumped down into the bowl. He readied himself and I did the same, drawing my katana. Vivi was more hesitant but ended up rushing down next to me. Steiner stayed back. The monster roared as if it were laughing. "Shut up!" Zidane yelled jumping wildly at it. He slashed one of the monster's arms off and left a noticeable slash in the monsters face. Vivi closed his eyes and sparks ignited from his finger tips. The monster was on first for a second, flailing his arms in all directions. Soon, the monster extinguished itself and stared directly at me. I ran at the monster and made a slash straight down the middle of its face. Zidane came across and sliced it face horizontally, then Steiner from the top right to the bottom left, then an unexpected man came in. He sliced from top left to the bottom right and then finally, Vivi lit the corpse on fire. Zidane grabbed Garnet as a large praying mantis with a rose for a head came out of the corpse. It began chasing Zidane as hundreds more erupted from the corpse.

We ran through the jungle, trees passing us. We jumped down ledges and the monsters followed. Blank was caught by one of the monsters and yelled to Zidane who stopped in his tracks, "Go on! Take this!" He threw us a rolled up sheet of paper. I caught it in mid air and continued to run. "And Leo, I have a last name! Its – " His voice stopped. I looked behind be only to see the whole forest being turned gray. "Petrifaction," I mumbled. I ran as fast as I could, Steiner and Vivi on my tail. All of us rushed out of the forest and panted. I looked at the forest and grey vies intertwined around the entrance. "Blank," Zidane said. I took off my jacket and straightened out my pure red shirt. I bunched up the jacket and laid it on the ground. I took the Garnet in my arms and laid her down. I lightly placed her head upon the jacket and stood next to Zidane. He slammed his fist into the stone vines and yelled, "Blank! Blank!"

"When we can, we will get a super soft to restore his life," I said to him. "For the time being, let's focus on getting Garnet to safety."

He stood up straight, taking deep, stuttering breaths, and replied, "You're right." He talked to the moogle standing at the edge of a cliff and the moogle set up a tent. We all moved Garnet inside and let her rest. I stood overlooking the rest of the grey forest. Zidane suddenly appeared next to me. "Do you think that Baku and the rest made it out?"

"There is no sure way to tell," I said to him. "But since they all have Baku, I'm sure they'll be fine. We're setting out tomorrow, so go get some rest."

"What about you?"

"I'll be completely fine. I've stayed up for more than 24 hours at times."

"Okay," Zidane said. He yawned loudly and headed off into the large tent. I sat on the ground and stared up at the sky. As the stares twinkled and the full moon lit up the dark night, I remembered my home. My family, my pets, my friends, and my dearest possessions. I didn't know if I would ever see them again. I put that thought to rest and laid down. I quickly fell asleep to the crickets chirping.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Colder Than Ice

I was woken by a sharp pain in my stomach. My eyes shot open and I noticed there was a boot on my stomach. I coughed and rolled over. "Finally got you to wake up," Zidane said proudly.

"Shut up," I told him. I slowly stood up, clenching my stomach. "Everyone ready to go?" I asked. Vivi, Garnet, and Zidane quickly nodded, but Steiner was hesitant. After about a minute, he nodded. The tent was rolled up and a moogle was carrying away. We were all standing for a minute where we were before I fell asleep. Zidane led the way out of the Evil Forest area and out into a large open plain. The ground was covered in a lush, dark green grass. Clear, shining rivers flowed under wooden bridges. Fish leaped out of the rivers, then landed back in with a light _splash_. Grass topped mountains surrounded us. This whole part of the world was beautiful. I was in complete awe. Zidane opened up the map Blank threw us in his last moments. The map showed all four pieces of land in on the bottom right, in fancy, curled letters "The World of Gaia" was written.

"So where exactly are we going?" Zidane asked Garnet.

"My closest relative is in Lindbulm," she answered.

"The fastest route would be to go through the Ice Cavern and go to the Village of Dali. There we will catch an airship through the South Gate and continue on to Lindblum."

"Sounds good to me," Garnet said.

"The Ice Cavern is right up head, let's go," Zidane said. We walked up to a cavern entrance carved into the side of a mountain. White fog oozed out of the entranced that made my angles tingle with the chill. We all walked in together. My eyes widened with what I saw. There was a bridge of pure ice leading to the main cavern. The walls were coated with ice and icicles hung off them. The white fog covered the icy floor. "Mist," Zidane muttered.

"How did you know?" Garnet asked.

"The _Prima Vista _ran off of mist. I kind of became an expert on this," Zidane replied to her. We walked into the main part of the cavern. Ledges were randomly laid throughout the room. Ferns and flowers grey there, perfectly preserved in ice, as if time stood still in that cave. Garnet bent down on her knees and looked closely at the plants. "Don't touch anything, Garnet," Zidane instructed.

"Call her princess, filthy thief scum!" Steiner yelled.

"Shut up, Rusty!" he snapped back. Garnet stood up and walked between them.

"Guys, stop fighting," she told them. "We have to make it to Lindbulm without you two killing each other."

"Fine," Zidane said. Steiner grunted.

"Let's go," I told them. "I know the way." I had played Final Fantasy IX a countless number of times and new this part of the game by heart. I led them all into the first room. Mist flowed out of make shift pipes formed in the walls. Monsters were gathered around this mist. I approached one of these monsters and it turned its eyes on me. The monster was brown and had a straight mane. Its eyes were yellow and pierced through your heart. It snarled showing its pure white teeth. _A Fang_ I thought. It leapt at me and I drew my katana. I slashed it down and pushed it off the edge of a cliff. I kept my katana out and said, "Draw your weapons and stay on guard." I walked on, leading them to different parts of the cave. More Fangs attacked us along with some Goblins and one or two Flans. All of us easily destroyed them and rushed through the cave. The longer we were here meant the more dangerous it would become.

We finally arrived to a small room with a large glacier was in the middle. I looked more closely at it, I saw a moogle trapped inside. "Hey, Vivi, could you burn this glacier?"

"I-I think so," he said, unsure. He raised his hands and they sparked. The glacier lit on fire. After a few minutes, it was completely melted. The moogle jumped out and danced. "I'm free!" he said. His voice was unlike the one in the Evil Forest. This one's was higher pitched than Vivi's voice. "Thanks for saving me, strangers." He took off running toward the exit.

"Your welcome, I quess," I mumbled after he left. "Okay, that leaves one more place to go." We continued onto the last room where I knew we would be knocked out. We started to walk to the other side of the room, the mist growing stronger with each minute. Suddenly, a loud _Clunk_ echoed through the room. "Yo, Rusty! You with me?" Zidane yelled. Steiner was knocked out. Vivi collapsed next. Garnet started to. Zidane and I rushed to her side, trying to help her stand up. She collapsed and it was useless, Zidane was falling asleep too. We collapsed with a thud and I started to go too. _Crap_ I thought as my vision went black.

I suddenly regained consciousness. Zidane was missing, just like in the game. I stood up slowly and walked into the next room. Zidane had his daggers drawn and stood in front of a tall figure. The tall figure had a pointed hat on. His jacket had a fur collar and his pants were like Vivi's, only completely beige. His eyes were yellow as Vivi's and his face as dark as Vivi's. It was Black Waltz #1. When Zidane tried to attack the Black Waltz, it dodged and summoned a large creature from out of nowhere. It was the Sea Lion.

The Sea Lion was a ferocious creature. It was made of pure ice. There was a blue orb in the middle of its chest. It glowed brightly and was surrounded by a metal cage. Zidane growled and leapt at the monster. The monster crawled back but was quickly recovered by the Black Waltz. I jumped out of the spot I was hiding in and stood by Zidane. "Take out the Black Waltz first, and then we'll take back the Sea Lion."

"Ahh, I believe that you are Leo Fujikawa. If I remember correctly, you defeated me in my past lived. This time I will not allow this. You will die here and never return to your world," the Black Waltz. Zidane's eyes widened.

"What does he mean Leo?" Zidane asked.

"It doesn't matter, let's just end him," I replied. I jumped toward the mage. I raised my sword above my head. All the memories from back on earth came rushing to me. All of my friends, my family, the girl I liked but didn't even knew that I existed. I had to see them all. I let my unleashed my rage with a loud and angry roar. I brought my sword down through his hat. The katana sliced through the mage with ease. The Black Waltz let out a blood curdling scream. Loose cotton slowly fell out of his head and as my sword continued to split his body in two, Zidane stepped back. "He's artificial," he whispered. My sword hit the ice with a great force, leaving a very noticeable crack in it. The Sea Lion slid toward me. I strafed out of its way and began slicing away at it. The monster stood high on its tail and began to swirl around. Suddenly, I couldn't move. I was frozen. _Blizzara_ I thought. _Crap._

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zidane get hit in the side of the head by the Sea Lion's tail. Zidane laid on the ice covered ground, unconscious for a minute or two. His body began to glow with an extremely bright light. He was in trance. He stood up, covered in hair as if he was a monkey. He jumped onto the monster's chest and put his hand on the orb. He closed his eyes and I saw a small wave form in the small gap between him and the Sea Lion. It was Tidal Flame. The orb turned yellow and soon after, turned red. Zidane led the monster around the room, making it smash into walls. He stood in front of the glacier I was trapped in and dodged at the last second. It slammed into the glacier breaking me free. I was locked onto his head as he slid toward the wall. I gouged out his left eye with my katana and the monster stopped in its tracks. It reared back and Zidane slashed at its orb. It soon showed signs of shattering. The crystal of the orb shattered all over us. We covered our heads with our arms and waited until the rain of glass stopped.

We stood up slowly and our breathing slowed as the body of the Sea Lion melted away into nothingness. The mist had stopped flowing out of the walls and we headed back to wake everyone. Garnet was already waking up. She stretched and dusted off her orange suit. Vivi wake up and straightened out his hat. Zidane jumped off the edge of the patch toward Steiner. He kicked Steiner's shoulder and said, "Rusty, wake up!"

"Where's the princess?" he mumbled. He was curled up in a ball and had his thumb in his mouth.

"So I guess we just leave him?" Zidane said.

"No, he might prove useful in the future," Garnet replied. "If we return to Alexandria Castle, he knows every passage way to help us in getting to the Queen. Wake up, Steiner."

"Okay, I guess." Steiner started to stir then jumped up. He grabbed Zidane's collar of his vest and pinned him up against the wall. "I'll protect you from him!"

"Why do you keep doing that?!" Zidane asked.

"I will faithfully serve the Princess through my dying breath!" Steiner answered, saluting.

"Let's just get to Dali," I said to them.

"Sounds like a plan," Vivi agreed. We walked onto the next room. I was still wondering why the Black Waltz #1 knew me. Were all the files I had in my Final Fantasy IX game different lives of all the characters, played out the same way? They must be. Everybody stopped in their tracks.

"The floor is melting," Zidane told us.

"Well, let's run. Follow me," I told them. I took the lead and sprinted up the side of the cave as the ice pathways fell into the freezing waters below. I was near the exit when Garnet's scream filled the cave. She had fallen behind and was beginning to fall to her almost certain, freezing doom. A hand grabbed her and pulled her to safety. She stared up into the man's eyes. "Thanks, Zidane," she said.

"There's no time for that, we have to run," he told her. He took her in his arms and ran to the exit. We walked out as the last section made a large splash into the water. We looked around the open space. The grass covered mountain tops were beautiful. Small patches of forests were spread around plain. "Wow!" Garnet said.

"I know," we all replied. A small town was in the distance. It had wooden buildings and to its right was a large rock spire. "Let's book it," I said. We all ran down the slope to the plains and sprinted to the town. No monsters would attack us during the day and out in the open. If we went into one of the forest, we would have to be ready to put up a fight. We came to a halt and I was completely out of breath. I put my hands on my knees and bent over. I breathed rapidly until my breathing and heart pace evened out. The first building to our left had sign that read "Inn". We looked at the west and noticed the sun setting. We all walked in and we paid for a room. We headed in and fell into the beds. Everyone fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Dali

I dreamt of my home and the enjoyable life I lived back there. I was slowly awoken in the middle of the night. There was singing. It was beautiful. All of my fears of the Black Waltz #2 and #3 appearing soon disappeared. I slowly slid out of bed when I heard Zidane snore loudly. I remembered that Zidane woke up to the singing too. I put on my shoes and headed out side. It was nearly dawn and the light of the rising sun slightly illuminated the town of Dali. I looked around the town and couldn't see anyone out of their houses. I had to trust my ears. I followed the sound to its source. The singing led me out of the Dali and to an observatory tower. There was a wooden shack at the bottom of the pillar. The lights were out and nobody was moving. I followed the cracked stone stairs to the top. At the top were a couple of ferns and tree saplings. A wooden platform extended over the edge of the spire. There was a girl was standing at the edge. Her black hair fell down onto her back and she was dressed in an orange outfit. She heard me gasp and turned around. My jaw dropped. Her face was illuminated by the sunlight and she looked beautiful. A gust of wind blew her hair across her face. "Is something wrong, Leo?" Garnet asked.

"No, it's just that, you're beautiful," I said and blushed. She blushed too. I quickly pushed that feeling away and said, "No, that's not how it's supposed to happen." I knew how the end of the game turned out.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"You just so beautiful, but I can't think that. You are supposed to like someone else and someone else is supposed to like you," I said, trying not to spoil her fate for her.

"I don't understand but okay, I guess." We headed back down the spire in silence. Half way down, she stopped. I looked back at her. "Why can't you like me? This isn't the game, this is real life!" she told me.

"I guess, but I'm in the game," I told her.

"No, you're not. This is life. You must live or die and fight with us. This is no game."

"I guess not, so we can like each other."

She hugged me and chuckled. "Let's pretend we didn't have this conversation."

"Okay," I agreed and we walked down and to the village of Dali. We walked into the Inn and everyone was beginning to wake up. They all stood up and looked at us. "How long have you two been awake?" Zidane asked.

"A couple of minutes, I think," I told them. Steiner charged at me and grabbed my collar. "Seriously, you have to stop doing that!"

"What were you doing with the princess?!" he shouted.

"We were just talking, I swear!" I told him. He put me down.

"Steiner, you have to stop that. These are our friends," Garnet told him.

"As you wish, princess," he said. We all walked into the lobby and paid for the room. We walked out into Dali. Small children ran around with each other, laughing. No adults were around which was weird. We all walked around the village and all we saw were children. We were out in a farm field with no one around and Garnet turned to me. "Since this tow is fairly close to Alexandria, I think I might want to take a nickname," she said. Everyone stood there thinking while I quickly said, "How about dagger?"

"What do you mean?" she asked me.

"Well," I began, "No one would relate it to 'Garnet', and also daggers represent your personality. You are strict and sharp, but independent, you can be on your own."

"I like that," she told me. "Thanks you, Leo."

"No problem," I replied and we headed back into the village.

"So, I guess since there is no real danger for the moment, let's all split up and do whatever you want," Zidane said.

"Sure," everyone but Steiner agreed. Garnet went off to practice talking to common people and Zidane was just going to walk around. Vivi went to explore and Steiner went off to a tavern. I stood where I was and looked around. There were tons of unused hay stacks. I quickly gather long strands of them and made around 10 makeshift dummies. I ran to the Inn and grabbed my katana. I returned to the field and looked around. There were no towns or any man made substances within miles. I tied the katana's sheath to my belt and drew it. I quickly sliced through the body of one, leaving the top part to slowly slide to the ground. I fluently brought the sword down through the second dummy's head and the halves separated from each other. I turned to the third with great speed and trusted my sword toward my target. I sank in and I kicked it off my katana. I sliced the next diagonally, then the next's legs off. Finally, with the last one, I sliced the head off, kicked it into the air, and sliced it in half more that it was while it was falling. I stood up, sheathing the katana. I stood amongst hay and rope. The remains of the dummies were all around. I glanced behind me and there stood three people: Garnet, Vivi, and Zidane. Zidane rushed up to my and put his hand around on my shoulder.

"Dude, that was," he began, "AWESOME!"

"That was so cool!" Vivi exclaimed. Garnet stood there wide-eyed.

"How'd you learn all that stuff?" Zidane asked.

"Taught myself," I answered. "When I was younger, I used to go out into my back yard and swing around a wooden sword until I was out of breath."

"That's awesome," he said. "You really know how to use a weapon. You are definitely staying with us."

"What do you mean?" I asked, slipping his hand off my shoulder.

"You are going to Lindbulm with us and to where ever else we have to go," he answered. "You would be a great addition to our little group."

"I guess," I told Zidane. It would be great to have some company while I'm trapped here. WE walked around Dali until we turned around. Vivi wasn't with us. "Vivi?" Zidane asked. There was no reply. We rushed to find Garnet and asked her where Vivi was. She didn't know. He was trapped, I knew it. "Follow me, guys," I said. I just realized that Steiner was missing. I didn't care. I ran into a large building. All around us were sacks of wheat and sand bags. A boy was sleeping in the corner. Above us were rotating mechanical gears. We went through the closed door and saw an old man sleeping on a leather couch. "So there are adults here," I said. I walked back out the doors and headed toward the field we were just in. The three of us went through the patch of crops and stood in front of a large trap door. "I think this is where Vivi is held, you all ready?" I asked. Garnet and Zidane nodded. I lifted the trap door up and we ran in.

We were in a large dirt room. There was a platform leading down to the next floor. Wooden crates lined the walls of the room with a diamond on them. We stood on the platform and it took us to the floor below. The only way out was a narrow dirt hallway. We ran down it and hid near the corner of the wall. Some kids were talking. "Load it on the ship," one of them said. The box in front of us moved. A kid came out from behind it and walked the opposite way of us. The kid that was still standing there said, "This will make a fine specimen for the queen." He followed the other kid and once he was out of sight, the box in front of us moved once again. "Vivi?" Zidane asked.

A muffled voice came from the box. "Vivi!" Garnet cheered. Zidane cut open the box and pulled out Vivi. "What happened?" Garnet asked.

"Some kids came up behind me and slipped me a piece of grass. As soon as they made me swallow it, I fell asleep. They brought me down here somehow and stuffed me into this box," he explained.

"Wow, kids," Zidane said.

"Do you think that it is just the kids in Dali that behave this way?" Garnet asked.

"No, back home almost all the kids around their age acted like this, although they weren't as daring as these kids. Anyway, we should be heading on, when I was talking to you this morning Garnet, I saw that the last airship was leaving today, and soon," I said.

"Okay, let's go," she replied. We ran down the hall was that the kids went down and arrived in another room. This one had the same wooden crates, but they were stacked on top of each other. There was a crane for moving whatever the kids couldn't lift, but we decided to ignore it. Just as we were about to continue through the dirt hallways, he heard a soft chirp. I remember how it was typed in the game: "Kweh" or "Kueee", depending on how long the sound was. We went to a small patch of dirt in the left corner and found a golden, bird type creature. A chocobo. I had never seen one in real life; actually, they never even existed. Zidane walked right up to it and began stroking its feathers. I walked closer, wanting to touch it. I stroked my hand down its side. The feathers were soft. Each feather had the same design on it and the light seemed to be reflected by the feather. "Wow," I said.

"I know," Garnet said. She was standing right next to me, petting the bird. "They are so beautiful." We heard a chest creek open.

"Found some Gysahl greens. Try feeding it," he said, handing one to each of us. Garnet tried first. She held it out and the bird swept it right off her hand. I was next. I held out my hand cautiously. The bird sniffed the Gysahl green and then in on fluid motion, put its mouth on it and began chewing. It swallowed it nearly whole and moved onto Zidane. Vivi was apparently scared of it. He came nowhere near the Chocobo.

"Vivi, come here," Zidane encouraged him.

"It- it won't bite, will it?" Vivi asked.

"No, it's fine. He seems trained very well," Garnet said.

"Well, okay," Vivi replied. He stood up and straightened his hat. We walked slowly closer to the chocobo. He put his hand out and the bird sniffed it. He winced. The bird put its forehead on Vivi's hand and Vivi began petting him. "Wow," he said. "He's so soft."

"I used to work with chocobos a lot when Tantalus was together back in the day," Zidane told us.

"Awesome," Vivi said. "You've seen practically everything!"

"Only the things on the Mist Continent. From Lindblum to Alexandria," he answered.

"AWESOME!" Vivi exclaimed.

"Anyway, we should be heading off now," Zidane suddenly said. We left the chocobo and headed down the next dirt hallway. I noticed something different about the next room that we were approaching. There was a light mist covering the floor. We continued on and say a large, steel machine. It made an awful noise and shook horribly. "A mist machine," all of use whispered. There were two large doors in which one was cracked open. More mist, more than from the machine, seeped out into the room. "Let's not stand here too long, we don't want any trouble," Zidane said. We all agreed and headed out of that room. This hallway was completely different. Windows were evenly spaced showing eggs passing by. "Chocobo eggs?" Vivi asked.

"No, see the stitching?" Zidane asked. We nodded. "They have to be artificial, made by the mist." We continued down the hall, peering into every window, but nothing changed. Until we got to the next room. On the other side was a ladder leading out. Beams of sunlight shone down on the ground. Above us were conveyer belts with hats handing of hooks. They weren't just hats. They were people. We all stared up in awe. Large people with their yellow eyes unmoving and their blue coats hanging over their white pants. Their arms were limp and hanging to their sides. They were black mages. Oversized, mass produced Vivis. There suddenly came footsteps from around the corner.

"We have to hide!" I said to them. Garnet and Zidane hid in a box and left it open for Vivi and me. The only problem was that Vivi wouldn't move. "C'mon Vivi, there's no time!" No response. I picked him up, but he still wouldn't move. I rushed to the box with Vivi under one arm and squeezed in by Garnet. They closed the box and we waited. The footsteps grew closer until we heard muffled orders. The box began to move and we braced ourselves against the back, not wanting to fall out. We were thrown onto a flat surface where quickly began to move. We were on the conveyer belt. "Don't worry about where we are, just be prepared," I reassured them. A couple of minutes passed and we were set right side up. Metal clanking soon began approaching. _Ugh, Steiner _I thought. I put my arm in front of Garnet, Zidane, and Vivi, who was beginning to move. The metal clanking would begin, stop, begin, stop, and then, a sharp metal blade burst through the side of the box. My arm got cut badly due to the sword and quickly began bleeding. I squeezed my hand and Zidane jumped out the box. "What did you do that for?!" I put my hands underneath Garnet to help her out of the barrel and Zidane was about to punch Steiner in the face. "You two, stop fighting!" Garnet commanded.

"There's no time to fight," I told them.

"What do you mean?" Garnet asked. I was pointing to a flying object.

"Black Waltz #2 coming this way!" I said. The mage landed right before us. This one had on an aqua coat He had no feet and his hat had horns on the top. His hands were humanly and they freaked me out. He had devilish blue wings like Black Waltz #1. I drew my Katana. "Prepare yourself!" I yelled.

"I won't be dealing with you today, Leo, my mission is to capture the princess," he said in the same maniacal voice at the other Black Waltz.

"That won't be happening!" Zidane shouted. He had his daggers drawn.

"I will protect the princess from you, scum!" Steiner yelled at the mage.

"I'm gonna help too!" Vivi said. He had his staff readied. The Black Waltz began to laugh. He began laughing and leaned his head back. I glanced at Vivi. We both nodded. He held his hands out and they began to spark. A streak of lighting struck the mage's hat. It light on fire quickly.

"Steiner, use the fire sword! Let Vivi cast fire on your sword then attack!" I told them. They did as I said. His clothes light on first and burned. Holes were in his jacket, showing that he had nothing underneath. Once the fire on him was put out, he held out his hands.

"You think that is magic. I will kill you little pests. I will take the princess!" he shouted. An enormous fire ball flew from his hands, hitting Steiner in the chest. He slid back, and got up unscathed.

"You will not steal the princess!" he shouted and charged. The mage was surprised by Steiner's pride and Steiner slashed away. His eyes were wide and his blood curdling scream echoes in our ears. The cloth of his jacket drifted to the ground. We sheathed out weapons and hear the rattle of an engine. We looked to our left and saw an airship coming toward us.

"Care for a free ride?" I asked them. "Follow me!" We all ran toward the end of the airship and Steiner headed up the ladder first. Garnet was next then Zidane. Vivi followed and then I climbed on last. Garnet was on the last rung of the ladder, waiting for Steiner to open the back door when Zidane pretended to reach up by accident. All I heard next was, "ZIDANE!" from Garnet. I put my hand on my forehead. A classic face palm was in order for this event. The ship began picking up speed and with that, so did the wind. Steiner finally opened up the door and we all rushed in.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Majestic City

We all climbed up to the back platform of the airship. Steiner propped open the door for us unwillingly. Vivi's eyes widened when he was inside. Black mages walked around operating machines with mist pouring out of them. Vivi slowly walked right up to one of them. "Umm, excuse me?" he asked. No response. "Hello?" he tried. Still no response.

Zidane walked over to them. He waved his hand in front of the mage's face. "Yo, can you hear us?!" he asked. The mage just walked the other way. "That's weird," he said to himself. "I'm sorry Vivi, but I don't think that they can see you."

"Okay, but I'm going to see if I can talk to them. Just in case," Vivi told us. He walked to the second floor where there were bridges going across the engine room. A ladder at the other end and we all walked toward it. Garnet climbed up it first. Then I followed her. Steiner went next then Zidane. We stood on the top deck. Clouds passed us a high speeds and birds flew besides us. Two black mages were operating the wheel and were staring blankly out into space. WE walked into the engine room and stared at them. There was a map above them with their destination make. On the map was a yellow pin. The city it was over was surrounded by water and a steep drop off was in front of it. A forest covered the edge of the cliff. Garnet gasped. "We can't go back to Alexandria," she said. "Pilots, turn toward Lindbulm!" The pilots did not answer.

Zidane pushed one out of the way and took the wheel. He made a sharp turn, but the Black mages crowded around us. "Get way, you don't understand!" Garnet and I pushed back the hordes of black mages. Suddenly, they walked away from us. We looked out the window. "What-" I began.

A silhouette landed on the ship's deck. I cast lighting all over, sending black mages all over the place. Vivi was on the deck when it happened. His eyes grew wider than ever and he stood in place. I risked running out there and grabbed Vivi. I took him back to the wheel. "Stay here," I told him.

"No!" he shouted at me. "I can't let that horrible man do that to my kin!" I looked out the window. There was another thing wearing a hat. His yellow eyes glared directly at me. He had a staff with two horns on it. He was in a blue feathered jacket with a fur collar and white pants and boots. It was Black Waltz #3. Steiner was already trying to get him to stop. Vivi rushed out and Zidane took off after him. "Garnet, can you drive this airship?" I asked her.

"I guess," she answered.

"Just keep the ship heading straight. Tell us if you see a gate, we'll take it from there."

"Okay," she said and grabbed the wheel with two hands. I ran across the wooden deck of the airship. I drew my katana whilst running and stood in front of him, getting ready to strike. "Vivi, don't use your magic until I tell you."

"Okay!' Vivi replied to me. Steiner attacked first. He took a large, horizontal slash across his chest. The Black Waltz didn't flinch. Zidane was next, two vertical strikes across his head. The Black Waltz took two steps back. Vivi stood there, not moving. I thrust my katana through the Black Waltz. He glanced down at it and began to laugh. He put his hand out and a streak of lighting shot through Vivi. I pulled my sword out of the mage and stood back in my previous place. All three of us looked over at Vivi. A blinding light surrounded his body. "No," Zidane said. The light dispersed and Vivi was in a different form. He was still glowing, and in a straight hat. His vest had turned blue and so had his pants. His eyes glared at the Black Waltz. "Vivi, cast two fires, one right after another," I told him. "NOW!"

He followed my orders and the Black Waltz almost tumbled off the edge of the ship. "This is how you use magic!" He sent a bolt of lightning through me. I let out a loud scream and my vision began to turn black. I fell to the ground, my body still stinging and wincing form the shock and pain of the bolt. My eyes were closed and I saw the things that I loved pass right before me. I opened my eyes and stood up. I ran toward the mage.

"YOU LITTLE-"

I was interrupted. A blinding pain began in my chest. I was thrown almost over the edge. Someone had caught my hand. It was Steiner. He pulled me over the edge and I laid down on the deck. My ribs were burning and right arm was completely cut up. "Kill him for me," I said to them. And they did. The Black Waltz fell over the edge of the banister and into the clouds. Zidane and Steiner supported me and walked me over to where Garnet was. "Zidane, take over the wheel," Garnet said. Zidane grabbed it as she ran over to me. "Oh my god, what happened?"

"That stupid Black Waltz," I answered.

"Once we get to Lindbulm, we'll have that taken care of right away."

"Okay, but we have another problem to deal with," I said, pointing to another silhouette speeding toward us. It was the Black Waltz, but on an airship.

"We can out run him!" Zidane said. He could be right. In front of up was the South Game. A large gate with red marking around the sides. It was closing, but we could make it. Within minutes, we were through, but narrowly. I winced over to the side and looked behind us.

"Umm, guys, we have a problem," I said. The Black Waltz #3 was almost right next to us. As soon as I said that, Vivi rushed over to my side, but Garnet was chasing after him. Vivi's fingers sparked and a giant fireball grew in his fingertips. He flew backwards onto the deck, but the fireball hit the airship. The engine lit on fire and quickly exploded. The whole gate was on fire. "Zidane, gun it!" I yelled. The ship's speed increased and I grabbed onto the railing with my good arm. The opposite side of the gate almost clipped our airship, but we made it past.

"Wow!" Garnet exclaimed. She rushed to the front of the boat and I followed. Off in the horizon was a large tower. The city of Lindbulm was near. Around the base of the tower was a giant wall. Large holes in the wall allowed airships to pass through with ease. Large buildings surrounded the main tower which had many side rooms sticking out of it. The tower had a bridge connecting it to another tower.

"It's amazing!" I said.

"I know!" Garnet exclaimed. She turned toward me and hugged me. "You got me here, all of you. Thank you everyone!"

"No problem," Zidane and I said. Zidane steered the ship into a hole inside of the first tower. The ship's engine slowed and finally stopped. Steiner walked off the ramp first, followed by Garnet. Zidane walked off and then Vivi. I slowly stood up and limped off the ship. Around eight guards came from a hallway and surrounded us.

"What is your business pulling into the air dock," one of them asked.

"We are here to see Regiment Cid," Garnet said.

"I am sorry, but Cid told us now to allow anyone into his chambers," the guard said.

"But I am Princess Garnet Til Alexandros 17th!" Garnet told them.

"We need prove," the guard replied. Garnet held out a necklace. The necklace had some sort of blue claw on the end of it. "A falcon claw!"

"Is that enough proof?"

"Yes, we'll take you to go see him." The guard led us down the hall and up multiple flights of stairs. They led us into a large room with a read, velvet carpet leading to a throne. Nothing else was in the room besides the marble flooring. "Uncle Cid?" Garnet asked.

"Garnet?" a man asked. He had a squeaky voice and it originated from behind the throne.

"Where are you, Cid?" she asked. A little bug jumped out from behind the throne. It had winds and its body was orange. When it would jump, the wings would flap and a soft, yellow spot would show. The bug had a beard and mustache on. "Oglop!" Steiner yelled. He jumped in front of Garnet and drew his sword.

"Steiner, stay back," the oglop said. "I am Cid."

"What happened, uncle?" Garnet asked.

"When my wife died, she turned me into this for revenge," he explained. "Anyway, what brings you all here," he said hopping up onto his throne.

"We need to get away from Alexandria. Queen Brahne is mass producing Black Mages!" Garnet said.

"Really?" Cid asked. "What proof do you have?"

"In the town of Dali, multiply cartridges of Black Mages were being shipped to Alexandria," she answered.

"Hmm," he began, "we'll investigate it more, but in the meantime, you can stay here. Guards, show Garnet to her room!" the guards saluted and took her off down a hallway. "As for you people," he started, "who are you?"

"I am Zidane, your highness," he answered. "This is Vivi and Steiner. We escorted the princess here."

"Who are you," Cid said, pointing to me. "I am Leo Fujikawa. I also helped the princess get here."

"I thought I remembered reading your name somewhere. Never mind," he said. "Do you have a place to stay?"

"I can think of a place," Zidane said.

"Good, well, I guess we will be seeing you tomorrow?"

"Why?" Zidane asked.

"I can see that you all have weapons. I suppose that you are taking place in the Festival of the Hunt tomorrow?"

"What exactly is the Festival of the Hunt?" Zidane asked.

"It is where a bunch of monsters are released into the city and you receive points based on how many you kill and the size and species of the monster," I told him.

"How did you know so much about it?" Cid asked.

"Well, hunters hunt monsters and festivals include a lot of animals or people, so the only animals around here are the monsters," I said, making a fast excuse on why I knew that.

"Sure!" Zidane said. "We'll be there."

"Okay, you are signed up. Be here as early as you can!" he said. We bowed and walked out of the throne room.

"So, where is this place that you know of?" I asked Zidane.

"It's close and is a small in. C'mon, follow me," he answered. He led us down to a tram and we boarded. It was light blue and had glass on each side. Propellers moved it forward and backwards across the rails. It sped toward the business district. It slowed to a stomach churning halt and we stepped out onto the stone stairs. The stairs led down to the bustling streets of Lindbulm. "How can you get used to that tram?" I asked him.

"Once you live here for a couple of years, you get used to it," he said.

Pretending that I already didn't know this, I asked, "You lived here?"

"Yeah," he replied. Tantalus's headquarters were originally here."

"Awesome!" I said.

"I can take you to go see them after the festival tomorrow," he told me.

"That would be so cool," I replied. I continued to follow him to the inn that he was talking about. I looked behind me to make sure the Vivi and Steiner were still following us. Within minutes, we arrived at a two story building. We walked into the front building and Zidane through the innkeeper some Gil for all of us for one night. We walked up stairs and went into separate rooms. I stared out the window at all the buildings. I could see the sun slowly setting off in the distance. I decided to get some rest before the festival tomorrow and lay down in the bed. I quickly fell asleep thinking about the Zaghnol that I would have to face tomorrow.

I woke up with Zidane pounding on my door. "GET UP, LEO!" he shouted.

"Okay, okay, I'm up, sheesh," I said. I got up and walked out of the room. "What do you want?" I asked.

"Let's go see Garnet and Cid before the festival tomorrow. They wanted us to see them."

"Fine," I said and we took off toward the Grand Castle of Lindblum. We walked into the castle and Garnet came down in the elevator. We went to go see her, but a guard stopped us. "Unauthorized citizens are not allowed in."

"Zidane, Leo!" Garnet exclaimed. She slipped past the guard and hugged us. "Cid wants to see you right now. C'mon," she said to us. She walked us to the elevator and pressed a button. The elevator shook and sped upward. I screech to another stomach churning halt in front of Cid's throne room. "Hello, uncle," Garnet said. Zidane and I bowed.

"Please, don't bow," he said. We both quickly stood up straight. "So, we have one more challenger besides Zidane, Vivi, and Leo. Her name is Freya Crescent." Zidane's eyes widened.

"Freya's here?" he asked

"Yup, I am," said a voice from the doorway. A girl with silver had walked toward us. She had the face of a rat with half of it covered under a hat. She had a trench coat with what appeared to be a coat of arms. "Don't tell me that you have forgotten me after all these years."

"I haven't," Zidane said.

"You two know each other?" Garnet asked.

"We go a long way back, but it's a long story," he said.

"Anyway," Cid said, interrupting the two. "We will need to decide what each of you gets. There are the prizes of money, a card, a rare accessory, and sword. Zidane, which one do you want."

"The money," he replied instantaneous.

"Freya?"

"The accessory," she answered.

"Vivi?"

"I guess the card," he answered.

"And Leo, you get the sword," Cid said.

"Great," I replied.

"Good, it's all settled. Go down to the city and prepare for the beasts."

"Okay," we all said. We all started to walk out of the room, but Garnet pulled me aside. "Be careful, Leo," she told me. She looked at my arm. I had bandaged it up last night before I fell asleep. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll last," I said to her. She hugged me and kissed me on my cheek. I walked out of the room, waving to her as I left. She waved back shyly. I caught up t Zidane, Vivi, and Freya. "Let's do this!" I said. "You guys are going down!"

"Sure," Zidane said, rolling his eyes. We got into our starting spots. I was on the right side of the gate releasing the monsters. Zidane was in the industrial district, Freya in the business district, and Vivi in the Theatre district. Cid counted down. "3!" The gate containing the fangs, mus, and trick sparrows rose a little bit. "2!" The gate was almost open. "1!" The monsters were practically jumping through the gate. "Release the monsters!" The gate slammed open. Fangs leaped out, trick sparrows flew away from the cheering crowds, and mus scurried across the ground. I unsheathed my katana and ran toward a fang. It was an easy kill. A couple of quick slashes to its body and it was dead. Referees came and marked the body with a blue flag with a large "L" on it. I heard someone from the archway near the palace shout my name. It was Garnet.

"C'mon, Leo, you can do this! Beat them and win this!" I nodded to her while I was deflecting a fang's attack. I ran into the tram station and saw Zidane get off of the tram. I sped past him and hopped in. The tram took me to the industrial district. I saw no monsters around and decided to head over to the theater district. I stepped off the tram and a mu came out of nowhere and jumped onto me. I threw it off and stabbed it with my katana. I ran onto the streets. Around three or four fangs were running down the street. I killed off two of them, but the other two backed off. I wouldn't let them get away. I followed them down a couple of steps and in front of a theater. I was about to hit them with my sword when someone fell from the sky and stabbed one with a long spear and hit the other off the side off the wall. It was Freya. She leapt off after them and I continued on. Soon after that encounter with Freya, I came face to face with a trick sparrow. It had a beige head that looked like a helmet and blue feathers. I hit it quickly with my katana and it fell out of the sky.

I killed four more fangs, two or three mus after that, and then I killed about five more trick sparrows. Soon after, I heard a large, deep roar coming from near the castle. I hopped on the tram as fast as I could. I sprinted toward the sound as soon as the tram screeched to a halt and saw a large mammal staring at three people. Zidane, Freya, and Vivi were trying to take it down. The monster was red and had a ridge of brown hair running down its back. Horns stuck out of its mouth and it had dark yellow eyes. Two horns stuck out form its chin and I realized what is was. _Zaghnol_ I thought. I rushed in front of the three people and started slashing away at it. I knocked me out of my way, slamming my bad arm into the stone wall of the archway. I ignored the pain and jumped back into the fight. I climbed up onto its back and gained my footing. Even though I was on my knees, I still had the hardest time trying to stay on the Zaghnol. I readied my sword and took a wild stab at the back of its head. My sword punctured the skin and I head it go through the monster's head. I winced as it collapsed to the ground, trapping my legs underneath it. The referees rushed out to mark who got the kill and announced that the Festival of the Hunt was over. The crowd rushed around us, shaking out hands. Garnet rushed down to me as soon as she could. Lindblum guards lifted the Zaghnol as I slid out from underneath it. I slowly stood, my legs searing with pain. We stood awaiting the results. Soon enough, Cid reappeared with a sheet of paper. He was so hard to see in his Oglop form from so far away. "Vivi Orunitia came in last place with a total of 43 points, Freya Crescent in third with a total of 79 points, Zidane Tribal with a total of 95 points, and Leo Fujikawa came in first with a spectacular total of 100 points."

Everyone cheered when Cid announced the scores. Garnet tackled me to the ground and Zidane shook my hand. Freya looked away and Vivi looked up at me admiringly. Garnet stood up and I followed. Cid was hopping through the path that the people made for him. "Leo, for your extraordinary skill you have presented today, we would like to award you with this blade," he told me. The guards bowed and handed me the sword. I bowed and with my outstretched arms, grasped the sword and held it. "If you wish, you may draw the blade," Cid said. I unsheathed the sword and looked at it. On the hilt was the words "Lindblum". I the guard was steel and had a decorative design made solely out of triangle spaces in the metal. The blade was what seemed to be obsidian.

"Wow," I said. I sheathed the sword and bowed to Cid. Cid bowed the best he could and walked off. Zidane and Vivi congratulated me once again, but I didn't want to be awarded fame. I was just in it for the fun. Garnet led us to the castle where Cid had his chefs prepare a feast for us. We walked into the throne room where multiple tables had been pushed together to form a large surface. Platters upon platters of food had been prepared and they all looked amazing. There was exotic fruit, multiple meats, and multiple soups. We all stood around the table and Cid said, "Dig in." And we did. I grabbed what appeared to be a leg of something (it looked like a chicken leg) and grabbed a wing of something. I bit into it, trying to be as neat as possible in the regiment's presence. The meat was overflowing with juices and was amazing. It was sweet, yet tasted like a chicken leg. I had never had meat like this back home. Everyone continued to eat everything they could until Freya stopped eating. "No," she said and collapsed to the floor.

"Poison?" Cid said. Zidane bent down to check her.

"No, she's still breathing." He started to fall over. "It's sleeping weed." Cid fell asleep followed by Vivi. My eyes began to droop and the figure of Garnet became blurry. My eyelids closed and I was thrust into the emptiness of my dreams.


	7. Chapter 6

*A fairly short chapter. I just had to include these optional side quest kinds of things. Enjoy!*

Chapter 6: Marshlands

I woke up and looked around. I was in a large hall, with around eight tables were pushed together with food piled on top of each other. I stood up and looked at a wing of a bird that I took a bit out of. A green substance was inside of the chicken. "Sleeping weed," I murmured and walked over to a snoring Zidane. I punched his shoulder and he woke up. "Garnet is gone," I told him.

"What?!" he yelled. He jumped up and looked around. "It's true."

"Wake up everyone else and I'll look around," I told him. He nodded and walked over to wake up Freya. I ran out of the room and stopped the first guard I saw. "Have you seen princess Garnet?" I asked him.

"I am sorry, sir, but no," he answered.

"Dang it," I said. I continued down the spiral staircase and asked every guard I saw if they had seen the princess. I returned back up to the hall and said, "Bad new, we have no leads."

"Damn, what the heck is she thinking!? Maybe she's heading to Burmecia," Zidane said, just like in the game.

"Then you might still be able to catch up with her," Cid said. "Well, go, get a move on!" We ran out of the room and to the elevator. Freya jammed her index finger into a button and the elevator sped downwards. We arrived at a large cellar room. Two trams screeched to a halt. One was coming from behind us, one toward us. We jumped into the one that was coming toward us. It slowly started to move then sped forward at a speed like light speed. "Why does everything here have to go so fast?" I asked.

"They want to keep up with modern times and the impatience of people," Zidane answered. The thing screeched to a halt and my stomach did a front flip inside of me. I stumbled off of the tram. We stared into the outside world and across the plains. We slowly walked out into the sun. I raised my arm over my eyes, blocking out the blinding light from the sun. We walked on, looking around. Then grass was darker than the plains by Alexandria. The same Chocobo footprints covered the ground. The grass seemed we and so did the whole ground. Caves lined the edges of mountains and we walked closer to them. We were near the entrance when Vivi said, "Hey, look over there!" There was long grass and someone was walking through them. "Let's go check it out!"

"Okay," we all agreed.

"I'm not going in there," Freya said, crossing her arms and looking away.

"C'mon, Freya," Zidane said. "Who knows, we may find some treasure!" he said. "Treasure," he said again and sped off toward the swamp. We had no choice to follow. We slowly walked over to the swamp where Zidane was tapping his foot against the ground impatiently.

"Let's go," I said. We trekked through the shoulder high grass, Zidane digging in the ground every couple of steps. The grass was rough and tan. It tickled my nose and monsters roamed around. We soon came to a clearing were multiple puddles filled the ground. The water was brown, shallow, and murky. A wooden and unsteady connected the two masses of mud. Frogs jumped around and croaked loudly. The grass to our right rustled. Zidane drew his double bladed sabre, and I drew my katana. "Get ready-" I began, but the thing burst out quickly. Its skin was white and it wore a chef's hat. It wore a kind of overalls and a pink shirt. Its eyes seemed like a blossomed flower, literally, its tongue was almost wrapped around its head. We all cringed. It jumped onto a frog, but the frog jumped away. She put her head down and stared at the ground.

"Hungry…" it said. "Frogs…" Its voice was uneducated and sounded like a mix between a man and a woman's voice. Zidane snuck up on a frog and caught it in its hands. He walked over to the thing. "You got frog!" It exclaimed. "Frogs very good! Mmmm!"

"Who the heck are you?" Zidane asked.

"Me?" the thing asked. "I Quina."

"Quina, do you want this frog?" he asked.

"Yes, yes," it said. "Yes, yes!"

"Alright, here ya go."

Quina grabs the frog and the grass rustle again. I readied my katana which was still out. Another person, the same as Quina was. "You can't feed yourself. Quina, you pathetic," it said. "Come," it told us. We followed it through the marshland. We arrived at a wooden house on stilts, protecting it from the flooding waters of the marshland. A bridge of logs led up to the house. We followed Quina and the other person up to the house.

"Quina, you in darkness!" the other person said. "You not master catching frogs!"

"Quale, frogs best!" Quina said.

"You need to see world!" Quale said. "Ah, you," Quale pointed to Zidane. "Show Quina the world. Go where there food!"

"I guess," he said, "There is more than frogs that taste good."

"Food better than frogs?" Quina asked. "Let go!"

"See you later, Quale," we all said. We walked out of the room, but Vivi stopped in the doorway. He turned to Quale.

"Do you know a person named Quan?" he asked. "He was my grandpa, and he looked just like you,"

Quale nodded. "I not know him."

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Quale," he said and we walked off. We exited the swamp within minutes and Zidane pointed to another forest.

"Let's go search for treasure there!" he exclaimed and rushed toward the next forest.

"Zidane, let's stay on task!" I yelled after him.

"Yah, yah, let's just check it out," he said, ignoring me. Again, we had to follow him. We walked into the lush, humid forest and looked around. Tropical flowers covered the ground and walls. Giant trees surrounded us. A moogle jumped off a ledge. "Welcome, kupo!" Its voice was high and squeaky. "This is chocobo's forest. You can play a treasure hunting game here!"

"My kind of game!" Zidane exclaimed.

"Zidane!" I yelled. "We'll play it later, we have a job to do, and we have to find the princess."

"You're right," he said, disappointed. "No thanks, maybe later," he said to the moogle. We walked out of the forest. We walked to the largest cave entrance that we saw and stopped at the entrance. Engraving of a language that I had never seen. "This is Gizamaluke's grotto," Freya said. "Before I went to Lindblum, Gizamaluke was very angry, so we want to be careful." The entrance was a pale blue and so was what I could see of the inside. "On the other side is Burmecia, so we want to speed through this. Ready?" Freya asked.

"Ready," we all replied. I swallowed my fear and we walked in.


	8. Chapter 7

*Now back to the main storyline*

*I know that some parts of Gizamaluke's Grotto is not as it is actually laid out in the game, but I altered it to make the story less like the story in a third person perspective.*

Chapter 7: Rain Drops Keep Falling on my Head

We were surrounded by darkness. No one could see anything. There was a small flicker of light and I turned around. Vivi had a flame in his hand. The light from it illuminated the blue walls. The same writing from the entrance was scribbled across the walls. Blood was smeared across the writing. Thick drops of red liquid dripped onto the floor and blood was also in puddles on the ground. We slowly snuck around a tunnel and Freya gasped. A soldier that was the same rat hybrid as Freya was lying on the ground. His face was burned and there was a large gash in his stomach. Blood was trickling from his mouth. "Fr- Freya?" he asked.

"What happened?"

"Black Mages," he replied. "Be, c-careful." He coughed up some blood and his eyes grew blank.

"Dang!" Freya said. "No matter, let's continue." There was a noise coming out from the corner of the room. I looked over and saw Quina shoving food from barrels into its mouth. "What?" it asked.

"Nothing," we all replied. I saw something sparkle out of the corner of my eye and went to inspect it. I picked it up and it was a silver bell. It had the same ancient language on it and I handed it to Freya. "What is it?" I asked.

"A Gizamaluke bell," she said. "Follow me." She ran down the other pathway and we all followed. She stopped at a large blue door. It had a deep engraving of bell. She held it out at shoulder level. She rang the bell and as soon as it stopped, it shattered. There was a loud rumbling and the large doors creaked open. We walked through the doorway. We stood in the large room. Multiple brides connected each side of the room. Stairs led to the floor below us. Two other sets of stairs led to up to another door. We walked down the worn and cracked stairs down to the second level. I was amazed at these ruins. Dead bodies lay strewn about. The rat hybrids had swords or tridents sticking from their chests. Some were burnt from fire. "No, the Burmecian's!" Freya yelled. She bent down next to one and slammed her fist on the ground. It echoed loudly through the tunnels of the cave. Once the echo died, footsteps emerged through tunnels. Yellow eyes appeared out of the darkness of the tunnels, followed by bodies. They wore tall pointy hats and jackets. "Black Mages," I said. I drew the sword that I got from Cid in Lindblum. "Get ready!" I told everyone. The black mages jumped down next to us. Zidane drew his double blade, Vivi grabbed a staff from a barrel, Freya drew a trident from a dead body and Quina grabbed a fork and knife from its overalls. They all extended their arms straight out and their hands began to spark. I leap toward one, slashing it vertically in half. The fluff from his head fell out onto the floor. I slashed the one next to his horizontally and the top part of the mage fell off. Zidane did the same with his double blade. Freya leapt up into the air and came down onto a mage, piercing its head with her trident. She pulled it out and swung it at the next mage. The trident caught the mage in the side and was flung off the side of the platform. It fell into the dark abyss surrounding the edge of the room. Vivi caught three of them on fire with the giant fireball. Quina waddled forward to one of them. It stabbed the mage and put the mage's head into its mouth. Quina chewed and forcefully swallowed. "Mage not good," she said.

"No wonder," I said. "Anyway, let's go on. We need to get out of here, and fast."

"That's true," Freya said. We all ran down the left hallway and more lifeless Burmecian bodies lay around the hall. Wooden crates were gathered around them, blood covering the corners. "We need another bell," Freya told us. "Kick open all these boxes. And see if there is one." We all walked up to separate ones and kicked the lids off each one. When all the boxes were open, the last one contained the bell. Freya picked it up and we ran to the large doors at the top of the stairs of the main room. Freya rang it and it shattered. The doors creaked open. We were in a large room with a spiraling staircase. We sprinted up it and slammed open the doors in the room. We were in a room with three doors and a large treasure chest. Freya opened the chest and it contained a large bell.

She rang the bell in front of the doors and the one of the right of us swung open. We walked in and another chest was sitting on a pedestal. I opened it and handed Freya the bell. We opened the left door and the room was large. Spiked lined the floor and small edges stuck out from the wall. The chest was on the other side. "I'll do this," I told them. I pushed my hands to the wall and put my foot onto the small ledge. I scooted along the worn out wall. I heard a deep rumbling and felt the ledge shaking. I rushed myself, but I was not fast enough.

The ledge began to crumble away and I had to jump to the ledge which was at least four feet away. I jumped and I thought I wasn't going to make it. My fingers caught the edge and I move my hands further up onto the ledge. I pulled my bodyweight up to the edge and I climbed onto the platform. I opened the chest and I grabbed the bell. I threw it to Freya and quickly walked onto the other ledge. This one did not begin to fall. I rushed myself once again across it and we ran to the center room. She rang the bell and the larges door, the middle one, slowly opened. I took a deep breath and walked in. The room was filled with water with a narrow passage way connected two doors. "Exit!" Quina yelled and ran across the path.

"Quina, No!" Freya yelled. The water across the floor began to churn. Ripples began to form on the side of the path. A large monster emerged from the water. The monster was a large snake thing with spiked coming out from its side. Little amounts of skin connected their tips. The monster's eyes were a crimson red and its teeth were a pure white. They lined the bottom and top of its mouth and its head was covered in spikes. "Gizamaluke," Freya murmured.

"Let's do this," I said, steeling myself. This was our only way out. I jumped into the water. It was awfully shallow. How did Gizamaluke live in it? That was a question for later. I ran at the monster and its tail easily swatted me into a wall. I slid down it and sat there dazed. "Ow," I said. Zidane leapt at it from the pat and slashed off a couple of the spikes on the left side of it. Blood spurted from its side. It mixed with the water, leaving it a light red. I stood up and snuck up on its tail. I stabled my sword through it and it growled. Its growl was the most inhumanly noise I had ever heard. I drew my sword from its tail and just sliced it off. I jumped onto the path with everyone else. Freya jumped into the air and crashed down on it and pierced its eye with one edge of the trident. She jumped back and Quina just ran to the exit. I jumped and clings to its chest. I climbed up onto its head. I carved an "x" into its forehead. "Zidane! Stab your blade into this mark!" I told him.

"Okay!" he yelled back. He jumped up into the air and landed on the top of the monster. He dug the double blade into its head. The monster screeched and I almost lost my grip. I began to fall, but I grabbed onto the spikes on the bottom of its face. I took my sword and swung it up toward its chin. The blade easily cut through the loose skin handing down and though its skull. I drew it back out and dropped into the water. The monster's eyes were growing blank and it was beginning to fall. Zidane jumped down into the water. He climbed out and stood next to us. Gizamaluke landed face first into the water. A giant wave emerged drenching us with bloody water. "Gizamaluke," Freya murmured.

"We have no time to waste, let's go," I told them. I rushed out of the cave. We were once again in the plains. Across the large, open field was dark, gloomy city. There was a gate to our right and more open plains to our left.

"Burmecia is just up ahead, let's go," Freya said to us. We ran across the plains, becoming out of breath halfway across. We came to a halt and I bent over. I panted and waited until my breathing slowed to stand up. I looked around me. We were standing at a blue gate and Freya was staring in awe. Rain dropped lightly on my head. A cold wind blew through the houses up ahead. The smell of smoke drifted into my nose.

"I smell of fire," she said. "And blood! There must have been a huge battle on the other side of that gate." A body of a Burmecian lay next to the gate, blood trickling down out his mouth. "No," she gasped.

"We have to get to the bottom of this," I told her. "Let's press forward." We walked through the gate and paused. More bodies than I have ever seen laid strewn about. One reached out and grabbed Freya's ankle.

"Protect Bur-" he coughed, "-mecia." His head turned to the side and he stopped moving. She ran ahead of us.

"Freya, wait!" Zidane yelled, but it was useless. He chased her and the rest of us followed suit. We followed her through a maze of twists and turns through alleyways until we stopped at large statue. Freya easily leapt up to the balcony. "Freya!" Zidane yelled again. No response. He began to climb up the statue. Vivi tried, but fell onto his face. I picked him up and threw him up to the balcony. I climbed up after Zidane. Quina just barreled up the side of the statue and jumped off. We all walked through the doorway after Freya. There were three people in the center of a large area. Freya was crouching and waved us to her. We crouched and followed. I grasped the stone bars that separated us from falling down into the area. A girl in a cap had her sword through a Burmecian. She wore something over her right eye and had brown hair which ended in curls.

"Beatrix," Freya said.

"The knight who shows no mercy," I said, finishing the lines for her. Beatrix pulled the sword out of the Burmecian and turned to the other person. He had long silver hair and was dressed in a disturbing outfit. I didn't look at him again. That was Kuja, the most disturbing character in Final Fantasy IX. Freya jumped over the balcony and landed in front of them. "Stop the murdering!" she yelled. We jumped down next to her.

"Ahh, Freya, the forgotten dragon night," Kuja said. He walked toward her. "A black mage, I suppose." He came to me, and stared at me. He looked me up and down and looked confused. "I've never seen this kind of outfit before. "What race are you?" I didn't answer. "Very well, kill them," he ordered. When Beatrix turned toward us, a large woman came out of a corner. She held a fan and had curled hair. Her skin was a teal color. "Brahne," I said under my breath.

"What happened to my princess?!" she asked us. "You are a member of the wretched gang, Tantalus who stole my princess! Where is she?!" she shrieked, pointing a long finger at Zidane.

"I don't know," I replied.

"What do you mean 'You don't know'?!"

"We lost her, she ran away. Do you need me to write it out for you?!" he answered.

"That is not a tone you want to take with me! Beatrix, kill them."

"Beatrix smirked and walked toward us. I gripped my sword and she ran toward me. I widened my stance and blinked to clear my eyes from the rain. I looked around. Zidane, Freya, Quina, and Vivi lay on the ground, barely breathing. Beatrix stood directly in front of me. She slashed away at me and I jumped backwards. She stabbed at me but I parried and sidestepped. I held my sword to her throat. She elbowed my back and I removed my sword. I ran at her and she dodged. I quickly turned around and slashed diagonally. She parried and I sidestepped to dodge a vertical slash. "Nobody has been alive this long when facing me. Who are you?" she asked. Her voice was smooth and the words were calm compared to how frustrated she was. Letting out a sigh, I widened my stance. "My name is Leo Fujikawa!"

"Wait!" Kuja yelled. "I know where you are from. You are from another land. A land like ours, called 'Earth'. You came here through a vortex and need to help save this world. I heard about you in a prophecy."

"That is true, and to save this world, I must kill you!" I shouted, pointing my sword at him. I dodged Beatrix's slash what slammed into the ground, creating a blinding light behind me. I jumped at Kuja and stabbed. I gashed his shoulder and he growled at me.

"You ruined me! My perfect skin! You deserve to die!" he kicked my ribs and I flew into a wall. My vision was becoming blurry and I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. Beatrix walked to me. She put her foot on top of my chest and rolled me to look up at her. She slammed her sword into my arm. It went easily through my skin and my arm seared with pain. It penetrated my muscle and I howled with pain. Brahne grinned with pleasure of watching me die. Beatrix pulled the sword out, leaving a large hole in my forearm. She did the same to the other side. She raised her sword, about to stab my knees but I swung them out from underneath the sword. She hit the ground and the sound of steel hitting rock echoed. I kicked her face and she fell over. She stood up and glared at me. A large red mark appeared where my shoe hit her cheek. She ran over and slashed my chest. I gasped with pain and my vision went black.


	9. Chapter 8

*I know the chapters are short, but that I only because I am separating the time spent in each are to follow the game*

Chapter 8: A Tree Town

I slowly opened my eyes. I let my vision slowly turn clear and looked to my right side. I looked out the window and noticed clouds lowly drift by. I was either on a large platform or on an airship. I sat up, but grunted with pain. The pain that originated from my chest knocked me back onto the bed. The door to the brightly lit room sung open. A person came and sat into a chair next to me. She had a silver tray lined with multiple medical supplies. I looked up at the person and noticed what she actually was. Her hands and legs were pale and rough. Silver hair lined the rest of her showing arms, legs, and face. Her face was a rat's and she wore what seemed to be similar to a shaman outfit. I though most of the Burmecians were dead, could this be a Cleyran?

"Where am I?" I hoarsely asked the rat-hybrid.

"Well, Cleyra of course. Four people brought you here. One of them was the Dragon Knight Freya. You were in pretty bad shape, barely alive," she said. So it was a Cleyran.

"Are the people who brought me here okay?" I asked.

"In better shape than you," the person said, taking off a bandage from my arm. I looked down at my bare chest. Gauze covered most of its surface. There were crimson bandages on my arms. I looked at the arms from which the bandaged was removed. A hole was in my forearm. I suddenly remembered what happened. Beatrix almost killed me. My arm seared with pain when the Cleyran applied a clear liquid to it. She applied a dry, fresh bandaged to it and moved to the other arm. "How long was I out?" I asked

"About two days," she said. My arm seared with pain. She took the gauze off my chest and I looked at the wound. There was a red cut with the skin peeled back. The Cleyran dripped the clear liquid into the cut and it bubbled. It continued to bubble for about a half a minute and stopped. She applied some more until it stopped bubbling for a while. My chest was erupted with pain and I let out a small scream. Zidane and Freya burst into the room.

"What's happening?!" Zidane said, startled, his hair messy and his eyes half closed.

"Nothing," I panted. Gauze was applied to my chest and I sat up slowly. Just like earlier, my body was full with pain, but not as much. "What time is it?" I asked.

"Around nine o' clock," Freya said. The grandfather clock tolled nine times. I sat on the corner of my bed and tried to move my arms. The slowly moved, but my hands were nearly useless, for now. I stood up and stumbled.

"Please, Leo, take it slow," the Cleyran said.

"I'm fine," I told her. "I'll be okay." I steadied myself against a wall and walked along it to the door. I stumbled down the stairs and walked out of the door. The Cleyran Settlement was just like a small town. There was a weapon and item shop. A couple of housed placed here and there. And finally, there was a town hall at the top of the city. The paths were sandstone and little Cleyran kids played on them. They would toss rubber balls between each other, maybe play with some miscellaneous toys. I walked to a small pavilion and looked out at the clouds. The seemed as if I could touch them. I touched the wooden structure of the pavilion and looked down at the ground. I saw a Chocobo dart by the tree and look around. It sprinted into a patch of trees and never came out. Birds flew by my head and looked me in the eyes.

A booming sound burst out of nowhere. The whole settlement grew silent. A ship appeared out of the sky. It had a sharp tip on the front and was a mahogany color. Queen Brahne commanded guards to do various tasks. Multiple windows were on the front of the ship. I saw Queen Brahne grinned and raised her staff. Alexandrian guards jumped off of the ship. I took off running the best I could as they invaded the whole settlement. I walked into the inn and walked upstairs. "Brahne is attacking!" I warned everyone. I grabbed my katana but Freya stopped me.

"You're too weak," she said.

"I don't care," I told her. "Alexandria is attack which means Beatrix must be here. I want to fight her. I want to get revenge."

"If you insist, just don't take it too fast," Freya said. I nodded and we rushed out of the inn. We went to the base of the settlement to guide the Cleyrans to safety. We led them down to the roots of the tree the settlement sat on and we headed back up. "Where are Quina and Vivi?" I asked them.

"They are probably helping the rest of the villagers," Zidane answered. We rushed through the sandy insides of the tree, sand golems chasing us through it. Alexandrian soldiers drew their swords in front of the three of us. We ran around a corner near us and the sand golem chasing us didn't notice. The golem took out the guards and threw them off the tree. We continued up the tree and arrived at the settlement in a minute. Black Mages were lighting the buildings of fire, piling the bodies of the Cleyrans that didn't make it over behind a building. Zidane took care of the black mages as Freya and I ran up to a large building near the top of the settlement. No black mages had destroyed this building. It had a curved, blue pyramid roof and large pillars in front of the doors. Beatrix was forcing the doors open. "Hey!" Freya yelled. "Get over here!"

"And why should I?" Beatrix asked.

"So we can kill you!" I said. Her eyes widened.

"You're supposed to be dead!" she yelled.

"But I'm not," I told her, readying myself to strike.

"You may not be dead now, but you will be now," she said. Beatrix held her sword at eye level and ran at me. I moved my feet so they could dig into the soft sand we were standing on. I held my sword with both of my hands. She grew closer until she was near my face. The sword was approaching my chest and I parried it out of the way. The sword flew out of her hand and landed in a patch of grass to our left. She backed up. I swung my sword from the left and hit the side of her torso. Instead of embedding itself into her side, a metallic clank rang out. My sword vibrated and I stumbled backwards. Beatrix rolled out of the way of Freya's spear and picked up her sword. Zidane, Vivi, and Quina ran up to us. With their weapons readied in their hands, they joined the fight. Beatrix had regained her sword and was standing in front of us. Freya leapt up into the air and Zidane took off running toward her. He parried her attack and put a gash into her shoulder. She kicked him out of the way, and stepped toward me. A shadow began to fall from the sky and as soon as Freya landed, Beatrix side stepped, making Freya's trident get stuck inside the ground. Beatrix kicked her face, pushing her down onto the ground. Beatrix took more steps toward me. I told Vivi and Quina to back off. I ran at her, dodging her quick jab. I put a gash in her other shoulder and She growled and took a wild swing at my arm. It caught where she cut me before and I collapsed to the ground. My bandage began to grow a crimson color. I growled in pain and held my hand only in my left hand. I swung at her head but she moved. The tip of my blade caught her right check, leaving a deep gash. Blood began to trickle down her face soon after.

"You little-"

She was cut off by a rumble of thunder. She looked up and she ran away. Dark clouds were swirling above the settlement. A giant shadow originated from the clouds. "No," I said, remembering this scene from the game. Odin would destroy the settlement. "We have to get out of here!" I yelled. I grabbed Zidane and threw him over my shoulder. I picked up Vivi and I ran. Freya and Quina were right behind me. I saw a Black Mage begin to teleport to and I grabbed onto his shoulder. I was pulled into a vortex of darkness until I was inside of a jar. I crawled out and lay on a carpeted floor. Freya and Quina appeared next to me. "Where are we?" I asked. I looked around. Mahogany banisters surrounded us a protected us from falling off into the clouds. I stood up and looked behind me. Five jars lined a balcony with seven rooms lined up. Muffled footsteps approached and I grabbed everyone and ducked behind the stairs leading up to the rooms. I looked up at the balcony, only showing the top of my head so no one would notice me. Beatrix was talking to a guard. I thought I head Beatrix say, "The Plans are in order. This should be over soon." She went into a room and I stared at the Cleyra Settlement. The dark shadow had come into view. A man with a horned helmet rode a black horse covered in armor head to hoof (get it) crashed toward the settlement. His gigantic sword stabbed through the houses and ground. A cloud of back dust surrounded the town. I was thrown off my feet from the explosion caused by Odin. When I looked at the settlement. There was nothing left besides the ruins of a couple houses. I couldn't believe Brahne did this. She had extracted the eidolons from Garnet and is using them to terrorize the world.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Return to the Alexandria

I sat there, still in awe from what just happened. The Cleyran settlement was there, just a second ago, and now it wasn't. I made a fist and walked up the red velvet stairs. My foot had just landed in front of the corner and I was about to go and confront Brahne when someone pulled me back. "What do you think you're doing!?" Zidane asked.

"I can't let Beatrix and Brahne do that!" I replied.

"We first have to find out where they are going, and then we can stop her!" Zidane replied.

"Okay," I said, and crept closer to the edge.

"She is no longer of any use to me," I heard Brahne say.

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?" Beatrix asked.

"Garnet has committed a crime. I shall have her executed for stealing the jewel."

"What?" Beatrix exclaimed.

"Don't make me repeat myself! When we get back to Alexandria, I shall have her executed for stealing the jewel," Brahne answered. I held Zidane back from killing her right there, on the spot. We walked down the stairs to the teleporter pots. "We have to get to Alexandria. Picture the basements of the castle and jump in," I told them. I went first. I was captured into a glowing orb and sped across the Mist Continent. Soon, after passing Lindblum and the South Gate, the city of Alexandria came into view. The cobble stone and wooden buildings grew larger. People were out, even when the sun was setting. The orb I was in lowered to a dark boat dock. I placed my feet on the ground and stumbled. I looked behind me where Zidane, Freya, and Vivi were landing. I walked into the castle and looked around. I raked through my memory for the way to Garnet. I took a left down a small hall then a right. There was a spiral staircase heading down further. This was the way to her. I was sure of it. I sprinted down the stair case and through the remaining halls. I slowed to a stop when I entered a large, open room. Garnet was lying on a table on one side. The two jesters, Zorn and Thorn were blocking my path. I ran toward Garnet and took out my Katana. I slashed the blue and white striped Zorn across the chest and kicked Thorn away from me. She slammed into a wall, gasping for breath. I got up to Garnet and put my hands on the table. "GARNET, WAKE UP!" I shouted. There was no response. "YOU CAN'T BE DEAD! BREATHE OR SOMETHING!" I yelled, completely forgetting about the truth I learned from the game. I turned around to Zidane, Freya, and Vivi. "Let's escape. I'll carry her. We have to run." I put my left arm under her back and my right arm under her knees. I picked her up and I ran in front of everyone else. I sprinted up the two cases of spiral stairs and through a fire place, just like in the game. I placed her on the couch next to the hidden fireplace. Everyone else climbed out and we heard footsteps. I unsheathed my katana and saw Beatrix come from around the corner.

"You-"

"I know," I interrupted. I'm supposed to be dead, but I'm not."

"You should have died. You will now!" She ran at me. I was just about to hit her neck with my katana, but Freya stepped between us. Soon, a loud clanking noise came from down the hall. Steiner came out and was followed by a shorter man. He had his eyes covered by a bandana and was carrying a broad sword.

"Marco!" Zidane shouted. "You're alive!'

"You can't count me out to fast, I won't die that easily," he replied.

"I'm sorry to break up this reunion, but I have some scum to kill," Beatrix said impatiently. She tried stabbing my arm but I dodged and left a large gash in her shoulder.

"Stop you two!" Steiner shouted. "Beatrix, don't you see what Queen Brahne is doing? She is using eidolons to conquer the world. She is going to kill the princess because she is useless."

"Lies," Beatrix muttered.

"Hey, wait a minute," Zidane said. "You're the general of this kingdom. As the general of Alexandria, what is your sworn duty?! Isn't it to protect Garnet, your Princess Garnet? I'm sure you know who's sitting over there." Beatrix looked at the couch and gasped. She dropped her sword. She kneeled next to the princess.

"It can't be," she said. "Princess…"

"What?" Steiner asked.

"So, it was true. The queen really did mean to kill her," Beatrix said.

"I knew the queen wouldn't need her anymore, but I didn't think she would take such measures."

"It's the truth, Rusty," Zidane said.

"You have to learn to accept the fact that our kingdom is against us," Beatrix said.

"There's no time for that!" I said. A bandersnatch, a white dog rabbit thing jumped out from a hallway.

"We'll take care of it!" Beatrix said. She and Steiner began to slash away at the bandersnatch. I picked up Garnet and turned around. Freya was just standing in front of the bandersnatch. "I'm going to stay," she said. "Go, run."

"Okay," Zidane nodded and we all went down the secret passageway of fireplace. We traveled down the cracked stone, spiral staircase. A quarter of the way down, a bandersnatch jumped in front of us. Steiner jumped from above, landing on the creature's head. He continually stabbed its forehead until it collapsed. I jumped over the body, followed by the others. Any other bandersnatch to come our way would get decimated by Steiner, Beatrix, and Freya. Soon, we were back to where we arrived, but this time when we tried to leave, metal gates formed around us, trapping us in.

"They fell for it again!" someone said. It was that blue and white tripled jester, Zorn.

"Really stupid, they are!" his counterpart said. It was Thorn, the red and white striped jester.

"You bastards!" Zidane shouted.

"Bastards, we may be, but clever are we," Thorn said. Zorn just simply laughed. Just as Zorn was done laughing, he collapsed. Marcus rescued us. Thorn also collapsed a second later. A man with a headband covering his eyes.

"Zidane, are you alright?!" the man shouted.

"Blank!" Zidane replied. The gate lowered and Zidane looked up at them. "Man, I love you guys!"

"You can ride the gargant downstairs." Marcus said.

"Thanks!" I said and sprinted down to the next flood. I jumped down a ladder with Garnet still in my arms. There was a crawling noise circling us. We were in a rounded room with three archways leading to an outer ring. Through the archway in front of us, a giant insect holding a gondola type vehicle. We rushed and jumped in. I set Garnet on one of the benches as the gargant sped off. "Garnet, please wake up," I said. I didn't want her to be dead. I pressed my lips against her forehead and stepped back. "Vivi, can you cast some sort of healing spell on her?"

"S-sure," he answered. He held out his hands and they began to glow yellow. Soon, yellow encircled Garnet. The yellow glow dissipated and nothing happened. I kneeled by her side. I noticed her eyelids twitch and open. She sat up and looked at me.

"My head, what happened," she said hoarsely.

"Your eidolons were extracted. Just rest," I told her.

"Okay," she agreed and lay back down.

"What's that?" Zidane asked. A white light was emerging from the end of the tunnel.

"An exit!" Vivi exclaimed.

"We're gonna crash!" Zidane yelled. Before we were thrown out of the tunnel, I managed to secure Garnet in my arms. The gargant stopped and all four of us were thrown into wet, soggy soil.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Lightning

I found myself on a soft, wet ground. I opened up my eyes and saw the trolley crashed over to my right. I raised myself up onto my hands and shook my head. I slowly looked around, taking in my surroundings. Rocky pillars surrounded me with a shallow lake. I stood up groggily and walked around. My arm wouldn't move and was drooping down to my side. I saw the trolley move and Zidane crawled out from underneath. I helped him up and he looked for Vivi. I looked for Garnet where we all landed. Zidane ran down a narrow grass path and I looked around a large boulder. I found Garnet laying there with her back against the rock. I tapped her shoulder and her eyes fluttered. I held out my hand and she took it. I pulled her to her feet and asked her, "Are you okay?"

"Just fine," she answered. I turned around as Zidane ran back with Vivi.

"Where are we?" Garnet asked.

"We're at Pinnacle Rocks. It's supposed to be near Lindblum Castle," Vivi answered.

"The gargant took us this far?" she asked again. She looked around. "Where are Steiner, Beatrix, and Freya?"

"I'm sure they're fine," Zidane said. "Let's try to find our way to Lindblum. When we're there, we'll tell Cid about what happened."

"Okay, that sounds good," Garnet said. "Lead the way." Zidane walked down the small grass path leading to another ledge. We slowly and carefully trekked across it, but we were halted to a stop by a see through old man. He had a long, grey beard which spilt into 6 curls at the end. His mustache looked like horns coming out from underneath his beard. He was bald and held a staff out toward us. He wore a green and beige robe. "Are you our enemy?" Zidane asked him.

"He's Ramuh, the Thunder God," I told him.

"Correct, Leo Fujikawa," he answered. His voice was shaky, just as an elder's would be. "Do you know that your summon magic destroyed Cleyra?" he asked Garnet.

She shook her head and said, "No."

"An eidolon follows its summoner's orders. It responded to the orders of a woman filled with greed this time," Ramuh informed her.

"No," Garnet said. "Mother!" she exclaimed.

"Your friends here saw the destruction happen. They can tell you the truth," Ramuh said.

"It's true Garnet. We tried to stop her, but it was useless," Zidane said. Garnet slid to her knees.

"Everyone…" she murmured.

"Garnet, it wasn't your fault," I said to her.

"If I had more power, maybe if I could use summon magic," she said. "Please help me!"

"So there can be more destruction?" Ramuh asked.

"No," Garnet replied almost instantly. "I was afraid of my summon magic at first, but I'm not anymore."

"Many years have passed since I last served a master. I must test you to see whether you are truly fit to be my master. I will hide five manifestations of myself in the forest. Each one will carry a piece of the 'Hero's Story'. Collect all five and tell me the story. If you put together the story to my satisfaction, I shall become your eidolon," Ramuh told us. His figure disappeared and the four of us stood in silence. About five seconds passed, and then Zidane broke the silence.

"Let's help Garnet get back her eidolons!" he exclaimed

"Yeah!" Vivi and I agreed.

"Splitting up and finding them would be the fastest. We can then mark out locations and where they are then come back," Zidane suggested.

"That's a great idea," Garnet said.

"I guess Vivi and I will go looking for two of them," Zidane said. "Leo and you go looking for two. We'll meet you back here."

"Okay," we all agreed. Vivi and Zidane ran down the path we came from. Garnet and I stood in silence.

"I think the best place to search would be down there," I said, pointing to the shallow stream below us. I know at least one form of Ramuh was down there and the other was on a path that was leading up from it.

"Okay," Garnet said, nodding her head. I leapt down and landed in the stream. The ankles of my pants got wet. "I don't think I can jump down there," Garnet said.

"Don't worry, I'll catch you," I reassured her. "It's not that far down." She quickly glanced around herself. She slowly crept toward the edge of the land bridge. In a second or two, she leapt down. I held out my hands to catch her. She softly landed in my arms and looked up into my arms. I set her down and she slowly looked up. She glared at me and slapped my arm. "You told me it wasn't that far down!" she yelled.

"I was just-"

"NO!" she interrupted. "I could've gotten hurt if you didn't catch me! I knew I shouldn't have listened!" She kept on yelling at me even hitting me at some points. I just stood there, waiting for her rant to finish, when something caught my eye. It was a pair of yellow eyes, just staring at me. I recognized the eye shape.

"Garnet," I whispered.

"What?! Why should I listen to you?!" she yelled.

"Garnet, just listen to me," I told her.

"You listen to _me,_ Leo!" she continued yelling. I saw the monsters two tusks emerge from the bush and it snorted.

"Zaghnol," I murmured.

"What is it now?!" Garnet yelled. Just then, the Zaghnol took off sprinting toward her. I acted quickly. I pushed her out of the way and drew my katana, holding it out in front of me. I took one looks at its eyes and immediately slashed at is. My sword left a deep mark horizontally across its face. I collapsed in front of my feet and its breathing halted. I stabbed my sword through its chest for good measures. I walked over to Garnet and helped her up. She stood wide-eyed at the Zaghnol that was now dead in the shallow swamp water. Her wet hair was covering her face and eyes.

"Let's get that hair away from your face," I told her. I threw her hair behind her hear and she shivered. "Are you cold?" I asked.

"I'm fine," she said, her teeth chattering.

"You seem cold. Wear my jacket, I said. I took off my jacket and put it over her shoulder. She zipped it up, and relaxed. Her shivering stopped and her breathing slowed. As soon as I relaxed, about a dozen yellow eyes surrounded us. "Umm…" I said. "We better run." I grabbed Garnet's hand and lifted her into my arms. I sprinted away from the crowd of monsters. I constantly looked behind me, and every time I looked, more Sand Scorpions, Seeker Bats, and Zaghnols were gathering. I ran faster, swiftly running out of breath. I took cover behind a tree and caught my breath. Soon, we were running again. The gathering of monsters was getting closer and closer. I set down Garnet.

"Take cover in the forest," I told her, drawing my sword. "Try to find any of the visions of Ramuh." She did as told and I readied myself. The group of monsters was only a couple feet in front of me. I slashed away at the Zaghnols, taking the hits from the other monsters. Soon, all Zaghnols were eliminated, next was the Sand Scorpions. I had already taken multiple hits from their tails. I was probably already poisoned. My sword easily cut them down. Finally, the weakest enemies of the group, the Seeker Bats, were the last to take out. This was a breeze, but I was using a lot of energy. I looked at my arms and saw multiple holes with a green substance filling in them. My vision became blurry. I fell to my knees and saw Garnet come out of the forest. She held me in her arms. We'll get to Lindblum and get you back to health," she said.

"I'll just slow you guys down," I replied to her. "It'll be much faster if you leave me here."

"I won't do that to you," she said. "If we get Zidane and Vivi and find the Ramuh. Do you know where the visions are?"

"There is one up on that cliff," I said pointing directly up. "There's one where we landed, one in that little overhang," I said pointing to my left. "One by the forest where you were, and finally, one under a ramp toward Lindblum," I said. "Answer to him, 'Beginning, Cooperation, Silence, and Human.'

"Thank you, Leo. We'll be back for you," she said, gently laying me down on a ramp. She ran off toward the directions I told her to go. My body soon grew cold as the swampy water ran down my body. I lay there, looking up at the stairs and moon, thinking about my life on Earth. I thought about my home, the winter Minnesota air. I thought about my life, the amazing time I have spent in this world. I never wanted to leave here. In this world, I was accepted into society. On Earth, I was an outcast. Nobody every liked me and I spent most of my days alone either playing video games or watching YouTube. Soon, after 10 minutes of waiting, Garnet slid on her knees to my side. She propped up my head and looked behind her. I looked up at her. I was never going to leave this world. These people we my friends, my companions in this life.

"Over here, guys!" she yelled. Vivi and Zidane ran to me. Zidane took one look at my injuries and nodded his head. Let's leave for Lindblum for one. They all helped me up and Zidane supported me.

"I'm fine, really," I said.

"No, you're not," Zidane and Garnet said. "We have to get you to Lindblum, and then you can make your excuses."

"But really, I'm fine," I said.

"Shut up," Zidane said. "You're not fine until we reach Lindblum. We all walked toward where we would exit. I knew this part from the game. We all jumped down to the large plain leading to Lindblum. I looked around the seemingly endless plain. There were no stars showing above Lindblum. There was an ominous feel to the air, a feeling like we were being watched. Suddenly, I saw it. The _Red Rose_. "The _Red Rose_!" I shouted. There were multiple explosions throughout the kingdom, destroying all protection they had. Glowing orbs were sent down into the alley ways, followed by fire spreading everywhere, even into the sky. Explosions sent Lindblum guards flying off the edge of the castle. The bridge connecting the two castles fell, crushing anyone who was underneath.

"They're using telepods!" Zidane said. "In Cleyra, they used summon magic afterwards."

"No," Garnet murmured. A giant red monster appeared out of the ground. It had giant horns on the side of its face and tentacles emerging from the bottom. Its mouth looked like a gate with multiple spiked lining the inside. It was Atomos. Its mouth widened even more and soon, glass windows shattered, guards, both Lindblum and Alexandrian flew into its mouth. Civilians and Black mages followed. Just about anything that was loose from its foundations. Garnet began to run toward Lindblum. Zidane stopped supporting me and grabbed Garnet. Zidane embraced her, but she escaped his grasp. I took off running for her. I ignored the pain in my arms and back and sprinted in front of her. I grabbed her shoulder. "Garnet, calm down," I said.

"NO! I WILL NOT LET MY MOTHER DO THIS!" she shouted, hitting my right shoulder after every word. My arm seared with pain, but I ignored it and held her there.

"We all want to stop her, and we will in time, but we have to wait. We need to help you get your Eidolons back. Then we can stop Brahne!" I told her. Tears formed in her eyes and streaked down her cheeks.

"I want to stop her now!"

"You can't, you're not strong enough."

"But-"

"No," I interrupted. "I won't let you. We have to find Cid, get away from here, and then take out Brahne and all of her worshipers." Garnet slid to her knees, crying in her hands. She yelled as Atomos disappeared and the _Red Rose _flew back to Alexandria.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: A Paleontologist's Dream

Garnet was on her knees, sobbing into her hands. My whole body was searing, but I managed to last. I kneeled down next to her and she quickly wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back and kissed her forehead. "It was all my fault," she wept.

"No, it wasn't," I reassured her. "You had no control over Brahne."

"That's why it was my fault!" she yelled.

"No, stop talking like that," I told her. I looked into her eyes. "Brahne would've killed you if you resisted. We will stop her, no matter what she does. We will get to her and end her rule over Gaia."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "We_ will_ stop her, and if we have to, kill her. We will get you on the throne. You will be the bridge between the destruction and the peace."

She wiped her tears on the back of her hands. Slowly, she stood up and hugged me. "You guys are the best!" she exclaimed. She hugged Zidane and Vivi next. "Now let's go find Cid!" she said. We began to take off toward Lindblum, be body froze. The pain grew exponentially and my vision began to fade. I really didn't know if I would make it. Images of my friends and family flashed before my eyes. The last image I saw before collapsing on the ground was the world of Gaia, Garnet, and everybody else I have met here.

My eyes flashed open and I sat up. I was in a large bed room with three levels. There were two beds on each level with trunks by the end of them. Garnet and Zidane were standing by the door. I silently got out of the bed and looked into a mirror. My puncture wounds were sealed and had white bandages around them. The skin around them was stained crimson. My head was pounding and I was a little dizzy. I looked toward the doors. Garnet's eyes widened. "Leo, you shouldn't be standing!" she said, rushing to me and trying to make me lay down.

"No," I said. "We have to continue going."

"But you're hurt!" she said.

"I'm fine," I told her. "I'll last."

"NO!" she said strictly. She shoved me down on the bed. "You have to stay until you are healed!" I couldn't say no to that. Both Zidane and I had shocked looks on our faced. I lay on the bed, staring up at the glass ceiling, watching the airships fly past us. I wondered if they were from a different continent. Soon, there was a knock at our door. The regent accompanied by two guards walked into the room. Garnet and Zidane bowed and he bowed back. He walked up to me. I leapt out of the bed and was going to bow when his guards stopped me.  
"You're too injured. Stay in bed," the regent said, making his usual "gwok-gwok" sound.

"But we have to get going. Isn't there an excavation site called Fossil Roo in Qu's Marsh?" I asked.

"Yes, but you have to rest. You could die out there," Cid and Garnet said.

"I don't care," I told him. "Zidane, Vivi, and my job is to protect Garnet! By stopping Brahne, we will achieve that goal."

"Leo-"

"That is your job," Cid said, interrupting Garnet. "You three are the body guards of the Princess. You have protected the princess with your life. I will let you go, just be safe and don't take it too fast."

"Okay," we all said.

"Before you go, take this," he said, handing us a stained piece of cloth.

"This is a rag," Zidane told him.

"It's a world map," I corrected him.

"Really?" he asked. "It sure looks like a rag."

"Anyway," Cid interrupted. "I must bid you farewell. I wish you the safest travels."

"Thank you," we all said and bowed. Cid left the room with his guards and I slipped on a black shirt I found in the trunk. I grabbed my katana and walked up to Zidane.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "Do you know where to go?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, unrolling the map. I pointed to Qu's Marsh. "In Qu's Marsh there is a cavern called Fossil Roo. Fossil Roo will lead to the Outer Continent."

"Okay," he said. Zidane and Vivi walked out of the room before me. I tried to walk out, but Garnet stopped me.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm helping you to safety," I answered.

"Why?" she sternly asked. "Why are you actually doing this?"

"We all vowed to protect you from Brahne. If we go to the outer continent, we'll destroy the mist," I told her.

"No, tell me the truth," she yelled.

"I can't," I said. "I know too much about this world." They still didn't believe that I was in a video game. I walked toward the exit, put she put her hand on my shoulder.

"You don't know how this will turn out," she said softly.

"You don't understand," I told her. "I _do_ know how to turns out. I know the future of all of you." I silently walked out of the room and up to Zidane and Vivi. They would never understand. No one would. I guided them all out into now destroyed town. Buildings we half ruined, rubble was everywhere, and bodies that weren't swallowed by Atomos were piled in front of doorsteps. I walked through the guards clearing the rubble and continued out to the flat plains. I walked around the castle, checking every now and then on Zidane, Vivi, and Garnet. "Why didn't we just take the Serpent Gate?" Garnet asked.

"Too many guards," I said. "This was is safer." I knew Cid would try and help us, and I didn't want to harm anyone else. We continued to Qu's Marsh and entered. I slowed to a stop and looked behind me. Garnet was still upset with me and wasn't making eye contact with my. She wasn't even looking at me. "You guys go to where we met Quina, I'll be right there," I said to Zidane and Vivi. I stood in front of Garnet.

"Listen," I began.

"No, listen to me." She interrupted.

"No, I have to say what I have to say," I told her. "I'm sorry about saying all those things. The end may turn out different now that you all have someone else to drag around. I should really go out on my own, leave you to accomplish your goal. I'm too much of a burden."

"No, you're not," she said to me. "We need you too much. You know more about this world than all of us together."

"But I'm always getting injured and holding you back. I'm delaying you all."

"No, you're not. I can't let you leave, you can't die. I have no clue if you are telling the truth about being in video game, but I trust you. I can't let you die, well, die here," she said.

"I would rather die here than back on earth. I love this place even more than my own world," I told her. I noticed her tearing up. "Now, don't cry."

"I will cry if you keep talking like this," she sobbed. "I don't want you to die! You_ have _to live, no matter what! I hate people who will sacrifice themselves for no reason."

"But it's for a reason. It's to help this group. I need to help you be safe, and with me around I'm not much help."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because Kuja and Brahne are out hunting for one more person. With the person who apparently everyone knows, then it's useless. I need to leave to be able to make you safe."

"NO!" she shouted. "I WILL NOT LET YOU LEAVE!" she cried.

"Garnet-"

"SHUT UP!" she jabbed her finger into my chest. "YOU WILL STAY WITH US UNTIL WE FINISH OUR QUEST!"

"Why do you want to have me stay with you," I asked this time.

"You have kept me safe longer than I would have if I was by myself. We wouldn't have gotten to Lindblum if you didn't help us."

I couldn't argue with that. "Fine, I'll stay," I said.

"THANK YOU!" she shouted and hugged me. She put her hand into mine. "I will never let you go."

"You mean right now? 'Cuz I might need that hand," I said. She chuckled and let go. We walked to where we told Zidane to meet us, but we were shocked from what we saw. Zidane was running around in the water with Quina, diving for frogs. Vivi was catching frogs that came up onto land. I cleared my throat and all of them were looking at me.

"Oh!" Zidane said. "We ran into Quina and we promised to catch her frogs."

"Well, no matter how fun it is," I said, staring at Zidane's muddy pants, "we have a goal to accomplish."

"Oh, right. Quina, do you know of any excavation sites around here?" Zidane asked.

"No," it answered.

"We have to get to the Outer Continent. Any ideas, Leo?'

"Yes," I said. "Follow me." I walked over the small wooden bridge and into the tall grass, being quiet enough so no monsters would hear us. No monsters were after us, which was great. Soon, I reached an opening in the swamp. "We're here," I said. I looked around. Small plants made a path to the excavation site. The excavation site was a couple sets of stairs leading underground. Ropes blocked anyone from falling down into it from the sides. Quina made sniffing noises.

"Frogs!" she said running off of the plants. Large splashing sounds filled the air.

"Quina, be-"

Zidane was interrupted by a loud croak. "Gigan Toad!" I yelled. A large, blue monster came out from the brush. Its eyes were squinted and it had cuts on its cheeks. The bottom of the mouth was lined with aqua teeth and its underside was tan. Its upper body and tail was aqua. It glared art us. I pulled my sword, but Zidane stopped me.

"You're still hurt. Allow me," he said. Zidane grabbed Ogre, his double blade, from know what I believe as a sheath he mad and strapped to his lower back. He jumped toward the monster and juked, avoiding its slash. His blade dug into its side, releasing blood. It roared and shot its tongue out at Zidane, but he cut it off. Soon, the monster was on the ground, slowly trying to get up. Zidane kicked it back down every time, then finally, the stabbed it. The monster stopped breathing and we walked away, into Fossil Roo.

At the bottom of the stairs, we were in a small sort of tunnel. Every one of us looked around until I stopped. "We don't have time to stand around. Knowing the Alexandrian Guards, they probably saw us leave and can't be too far behind us."

"Okay," they all said. We walked a few steps forward and the sound of metal gates scraping open filled the cave. I turned around and saw a metallic monster. Axes and swords extended from its body. A creaking noise came from its core and its two wheels began to spin.

"We might want to run," I told them.

"Why?" Zidane asked. "HOLY MOTHER OF-"

The monster's creaking interrupted him. We sprinted away, but I stopped. Axes swung back and forth in front of us. I ignored the danger and ran through them with perfect timing. I jumped over a gap in the floor and stumbled. I fell on my face, but quickly jumped up. I looked behind me and Garnet was running at us. She jumped the gap, nearly avoiding an axe. I caught her and I stumbled backwards some more. Vivi jumped next, followed by Quina. Surprisingly, the slowest of us was Zidane. He jumped the gap and the monster fell down behind him. Its creaking grew softer and softer as it fell into the dark abyss. Zidane grabbed his tail and looked at it.

"That jerk took off some of my hair!" she exclaimed, rubbing the uneven spot on his hair.

"Geez," we heard someone say. "That didn't do much good."

"Who's there?" Zidane asked. A girl with dark skin come out from around a corner. A large blade was strapped to her back and she word a headband. A green feather was sticking out of the headband. She had red hair which fell onto her shoulders which had tan shoulder covers on them. A white and red band covered her chest and she wore skin tight, black shorts. She also had on something that looked like a red cape.

"I've been looking for you, Princess Garnet," she said.

"H-have we met?" he said. I slammed my fist into his shoulder, pushing him out of the way.

"I'm Lani, and by the order of the queen, I had to find you," Lani said.

"Why does my mother want me to return?"

"It's not for you, it's for the pendant. Does it sound familiar?" Lani asked. Garnet was silent. "Well, hand it over."

"No," I said. "She release the monster. We have no choice but to fight you." I drew my sword.

"So this is the Leo Fujikawa. I've heard so much about you from Beatrix, Queen Brahne, and that big oaf Steiner," Lani said. "I can't believe you survived after what Beatrix did to you. You'll sure die from me."

"Think again," I said. I parried her big blade and had already placed my katana to her throat.

"You Son of a-"

"I know," I said. "But look at what position you're in." She swatted my blade away and nearly cut my arm. "No ya don't," I said.

"I hate you," she said after I cut her shoulder with my blade. I swung my sword, leaving a cut on her cheek and forehead.

"Next time, I won't spare you," I told her shoving her away with my hand. "Now leave!" She listened and walked out of the tunnel. "Let's get going," I told them. "There should be a wild gargant nearby. We'll be able to ride it to the other parts of the cave system."

"Okay," Zidane said, still rubbing where I hit him. We walked for a minute or so until we reached a gargant hanging from the ceiling. I jumped up near its head and hung on to it. I helped the rest up and the gargant soon started to move. It climbed along the thin vine spanning the ceiling which soon branched off into multiple directions. The giant bug stopped above a platform and we all jumped off.

"Now, remember gargants are afraid of water. They all followed me down a tunnel that twisted and turned. Vines soon showed on the ceiling and a gargant was crawling along it. There was what seemed like a small windmill. "Help me turn this," I told Zidane. We stood on each side and turned it clock ways. Water rushed out of an opening in the ceiling, and the gargant heading that way road and sprinted the other way. "See," I said. They all nodded and we walked the other way. "There should be two more to turn. Then, we'll get to the outer continent.

"Leo," Garnet said, "why are you so desperate to get to the Outer Continent?" Everyone stopped in their tracks.

"To get you to safety," I told her. "It's safer in the Outer Continent. We'll go there and head to Conde Peiti."

"But why that town?"

"It's much safer than Lindblum and Alexandria," I answered. "Much safer."

"If you say so," she said.

"Trust me, please," I said. "I know I've done some rash things in the past, but please, just trust me. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you guys."

"Okay, but still, if you do," she said.

"I know, but I won't!" I replied. I slowly walked down the next two tunnels and we did the same thing. Soon, the only direction was to a remote section of the cave. We stood on a platform, looking around for the gargant. Soon, after a minute of waiting, Zidane picked up a daffodil type flower and held it up. The gargant sped out of a tunnel and skid to a halt above us. I jumped up and helped everyone up, like before. It crawled along the vines and through all the tunnels we traveled down. We came to an opening and looked around. What seemed to be old ruins surrounded us. Their blue walls encased us and the water below was so clear, you could see everything growing in the lake-like floor. Small fish and large plants flowed in the water, waving at us.

Soon, the sights we saw were behind us and the gargant screeched to a stop, throwing us off. We landed on a platform with one tunnel leading away from it. We all ran down the tunnel, and we engulfed by the sunlight. We were here. We were in the Outer Continent.


	13. Chapter 12

Sorry this took me forever-ish. I had tons of tests to take in school. Anyway, I'm back and here's a new chapter!

Chapter 12: Conde Petie and the Village of the Black Mages.

We stood outside in a desert looking place. It was the outer continent. A forest was to our left and a ridge straight ahead. In the distance, I could see a small fort.

"So where to next, Leo?" Garnet asked me.

"Conde Petie," I said.

"Petey, as in the name?" Zidane questioned

"No, no, no," I replied. "P-E-T-I-E."

"Oh," he said.

"Let's go," I said. We walked along, encountering no monsters on our way. Zidane stopped in his tracks. "What?" I asked.

"There's no mist," he answered. "It's weird."

"So," I said. "There's a large tree called the Iifa Tree. There's a monster inside the base of the tree that produces the mist. It is funneled to the Mist Continent, so there is none here. Just plain, wild monsters."

"How do you-"

"Like I said," I interrupted Zidane, "I know these things. You'll see."

"Sure," they said.

"Whatever," I said. "Just follow me."

"Sure," the all answered. We walked around to where the ledge connected to our ground level and walked up it. We ran toward the fort and looked up at its entrance. Vines were crawling across the arch and pathway. The fort was connected to a mountain on the other side by large, tubular vines. We walked into the fort. I looked around. Vine covered walls surrounded us. Different pathways led off to different parts of this fort. A shop was to our right, which Quina ran into. Little green people walked around, their lower teeth showing. They all glared at us.

"Wow," Garnet said looking down one of the halls. I looked down it too. A large lake sat in the middle of an open room. The sun shone down on an elevated platform. In the game, that was where Zidane and Garnet got married. It was even more beautiful than what I imagined. We all walked into the area. Garnet gasped and her eyes widened. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah," Zidane agreed. I stayed silent. I put my hands in my pockets, just walked with them.

"I'm going to go find Quina!" Vivi told us.

"Just stay safe," Zidane said.

"I will," Vivi replied, and he ran off. Garnet, Zidane, and I continued walking around Conde Petie. The green people, who I knew were dwarves, glared at us.

"I'll be back," I told them and walked toward the item shop I saw when we entered. I walked into the shop and saw a tall black mage talking to the person at the counter. I walked off to find Vivi. He was by the lake talking to two people. "Hey, Vivi, you need to see this," I said.

"Okay," he replied and followed me to the item shop. I pointed the black mage out to him. The mage walked out of the shop and out of the fort. "Should we follow him?" Vivi asked.

"It may lead us to somewhere of importance," I told him. "I'll go get Zidane and try to find Quina."

"Okay." I ran off to the direction of Zidane and Garnet and soon met up with them.

"Hey, we found a black mage. Vivi and I were going to follow him and we were wondering if you would like to come along."

"Sure," Garnet said without hesitation.

"Okay," Zidane agreed, and I led them back to Vivi.

"Now hold on, I'll go and get Quina. I'll be back in a few seconds," I told them. I ran off and went down every tunnel that had. Finally, I found Quina asking an elderly couple for food. "Hey, Quina!'

"Leo!" it said. "You have food?"

"No," I told it. "But I know a place that might have food."

"Tell me!"

"There was this black mage before and I know where he is heading. The people there might even let you have their food."

"Okay, we go there!" Quina said.

"Awesome," I replied and led her back to everyone else. "So, are we all ready?"

"Yup," they all agreed, and we walked out into the Outer Continent.

"So, I know where the black mage went," I told them.

"Where?" Vivi asked.

"Black Mage Village," I answered. "It's near Fossil Roo."

"Okay, I guess we'll follow you," Zidane said. I walked to Fossil Roo then to the west. We trekked through a dense forest until we came to a fork in the road. I led them down the right side, then the left, and finally, to the right. This time, we hit a village. Little wooden huts surrounded planks that covered the ground. Black mages walked around, farmed, or stood in shops. Vivi ran to follow the one with a bag; the one we saw at Conde Petie. I walked into a shop and looked at the merchandise they had. A couple of potions and staffs were in glass cases. I walked out and Zidane came up to me.

"Vivi might want to stay here tonight. It's already getting dark," he told me. I looked up in the sky and saw the sun setting.

"Yeah, go ask him if he wants to stay," I replied. Zidane ran off in the direction Vivi went and soon came back.

"He said that would be okay," Zidane said.

"I'll go get all of us a room," I said and walked off. I went into a building with the word "INN" scribbled across a sign. I gave the innkeeper some Gil and walked he showed me to a room with five beds in it. I slowly walked outside to tell Zidane. The sun had already set and the stars glowed brightly overhead. "Yo, Zidane," I said to him. "I got us a room."

"Great," he said. "I'll go find everyone else." Zidane ran off and I walked inside. I sat down on a lower bunk of a bed. "Bed" wasn't the correct term for it. It was more like a thin air mattress. I looked at the bottom of the bed above me, staring out into space, thinking about what we would all do to get to Madain Sari. Soon, Garnet walked in followed by Zidane, Vivi, and Quina. Garnet climbed into the top bunk above Zidane, and Quina collapsed on a separate mattress and began snoring. Vivi got on the bunk above me and soon, everyone was asleep. Or that's what I thought. I closed my eyes, but heard the floorboards creaking. My eyes quickly opened and my eyes darted around the room, only to find Garnet standing by my bed.

"Hey," I said.

"Why do you think you know everything about us and this world?" she asked.

"Like I told you, I'm not from this world," I began but she interrupted.

"With that, please, tell me more of this 'Earth'."

"How do you-"

"Zidane told me about your encounter with Kuja a while back."

"Ahh," I said. "Well, it's a fairly long story."

"I'm willing to listen," she replied. "Tell me about your life." She sat next to me in my bed. I sat up and stretched out my legs.

"Life was pretty rough until I was about 12. I didn't know my father and my mother was never home. I usually spent time at one of my friend's house until my mother came to pick me up. We had just enough money every month for groceries, and barely any to pay bills. My schools where I went were horrible. Kids would beat me up, curse me out, and try to pick fights with me. I had learned to defend myself over my years in school, and began fighting back. From the third grade, when I began fighting back against people older than me who picked on me, I met an amazing girl. I had known her from the second grade, or when I was around 7 or 8 years old. It was when I turned 9 when I began talking to her and hanging out with her. I was only 11 years old when I developed strong feelings for her. I ended up falling in love with her, and I think she really liked me too. We would act strange around each other all the time," I told her.

"What do you mean by strange?" Garnet asked.

"Well, we wouldn't be able to talk to each other and blush when we would meet eyes. Anyway, a year later, she had to move away. I tried to change her parents and her mind, but they wouldn't listen. I proclaimed my love for her and even kissed her to try and change her mind. They said that their decision stood and they moved the next day."

"Did you ever see her again?"

"Yeah," I replied. "When I was 14, I was in high school."

"High school?" Garnet asked.

"It's school you go to when you are 14 years old to 18 years old. She ended up moving back to that school. I asked her on a date, where we would go to a restaurant and talk about our feelings to each other. She told me she didn't know who I was. I told her my name, told her that I was in love with her and tried to jog her memory with a kiss. She still didn't remember me. I forgot about her, but my feeling didn't diminish. I was still in love. She began dating my best friend, and soon after that, that friend and I got into a fight. He began beating me up, accusing me of trying to steal her from him. I denied everything, and soon, he started throwing punches at me. I couldn't fight my best friend. I didn't fight back, letting him beat me up. I ended up with a bruised ribcage, a couple of broken fingers, a sprained wrist, and a sprained knee. My left eye was swollen and I had multiple bruises on my face, arms, and legs. I was lucky he didn't try and break my ribs. If he did, I could have died. I began blocking myself from the real world, surrounding myself in the world of gaming. That is where this world came into play."

"How?" she asked.

"I found my uncle's old copy of a game, _Final Fantasy IX_. I remember completing it when I was around 10 and began to play it again. I had beaten it for about the third time in a row when I was transported here," I replied.

"Wow," she said.

"I can tell you one thing," I said. "My life was boring before I came here. This is the best thing that ever happened to me. Gaia is awesome. It will be even better when you are on the throne."

"I don't know if I can help this world after the rule of mother," she said, looking away.

"Listen," I said, grabbing her hand, "I know you can. You can create peace between the continents and kingdoms. We can end the era of Brahne and make the era of you, Princess Garnet."

"Really?" she asked.

"I promise," I answered. "And I never break promises."

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "I better be off to bed. Good night."

"Good night," I said. She walked over to her bed and lay down. I soon fell asleep too.


	14. Chapter 13

Hey there. Sorry about the little hiatus, but I'm back. I'll try to stay more up to date on the story. Anyway, enjoy!

Here's a little note. I completely translated the dwarves' sayings so that they were easier to understand.

Chapter 13: The Small Summoner

"Hey, Leo, get up!" I heard Zidane yell.

"Just five more minutes," I groaned. I rolled over, turning my back to them. Garnet chuckled lightly.

"Hey, Leo, could you get up. We're about to leave now, so we want you to get up," Garnet said.

I yawned and sat up. I ran my hand through my hair and stood up. "Well then, let's get going," I said. I led them out of the inn and into the forest outside of the village. The five of us walked through the forest. I hadn't noticed it before, but the forest was dark. The sun wasn't up completely yet. I looked through the trees into the darkness. I felt a hand on my arm. I looked over and saw Garnet cowering in fear. I gathered up all my courage and walked through woods, ignoring the growls that surrounded us. We soon reach the plains and the sun was rising as soon as we exited the forest. We all stopped, watching the sun set. The sky around it grew a light shade of yellow. I smiled. This was one of the most beautiful, natural things I have seen since I had been here in Gaia. Garnet moved her hands down to mine and held it. I stood there, blushing and looking down at our hands in each other's. Garnet looked up at me and blushed. She looked away and took her hand out of mine.

"Umm, sorry," she said, not making eye contact with me. I chuckled.

"It's fine," I replied to her. We all walked on, going across the large vine and into the town of Conde Petie.

"So we have to get to the other side of this ravine that we're over," Zidane said.

"But there are guards blocking the entrance to the other side," I said.

"How do we get them to move?" Vivi asked.

"I think the best thing to do would be to ask them," I replied. "Let's go," I said. Zidane led us to the two dwarves that we blocking the entrance.

"We would like to get through here," he told them.

The dwarves spoke in a deep, groggily voice, using a different accent than what I was used to. I could just make out what they were saying. "Never! Speak to His Holiness!" one dwarf said.

"And where is 'His Holiness'?" Zidane asked.

"I don't know where he is," the other dwarf replied.

"Well, that's our answer," Zidane said. "Let's go find him."

"It would be best to split up," I said.

"Agreed," Garnet said. We all went our separate ways. I looked inside all the building for the man I knew in the game, but could not see him anywhere. I raked through my memory to try and remember where he was, and suddenly remembered. I jogged through Conde Petie and around the lake in the middle. Where the man was, I found Zidane talking to him.

"Look, we want to get past this village," I heard Zidane say, just like he did in the game.

"Tradition states that only those who undergo the ceremony can approach the Sanctuary," His Holiness stated. I walked up next to Zidane.

"So what is this 'ceremony'?" Zidane asked.

"The ceremony is basically a wedding and a honeymoon," I answered.

"Aah, I get it," Zidane said. I saw Garnet walk into the room. "Hey, Garnet, why don't you and I go through this ceremony?" Zidane asked her. I saw Garnet's eyes flicker to me.

"Is it okay with you?" Garnet asked. I did want to go through this ceremony with her, but who wouldn't want to? But they were supposed to go through this. "Don't say this is how it's supposed to happen. This is life. What do you want to do?" she asked.

Man, she read my thoughts. I was at a crossroads. "Well, umm, it's up to you. You can decide," I told her. "Either choice doesn't bother me."

She stared at me, and then Zidane. "Well, I choose Leo," she answered, pointing at me.

"What?!" both Zidane and me exclaimed. _Awesome!_ I thought.

"So you want to be joined, eh? The ceremony's only for dwarves, you see," His Holiness, David Heavenguard, as I remembered, said. "But we have so few young folk nowadays. We're down to 99 couples. I was worrying about that very thing. But what's the harm? Now we can have our hundredth ceremony!" His Holiness led Garnet and me onto the boat that was held above the lake. We stood there, side by side, as His Holiness said his blessings, much like back home.

I was surprised she chose me to basically marry. Of course I wasn't mad about it. I wanted this to happen. I liked Garnet. She had to be the most beautiful person I've ever seen. I stood there, taking deep breaths. I was overfilled with joy. David Heavenguard finished his last sentence, "May the blessings o' heaven be upon this man and woman." I was married to Garnet, for the time being at least. A little time being in a relationship with Garnet was golden for me. We walked together with Zidane, Vivi, and Quina to the two guards blocking the path.

"We underwent the ceremony," I told them.

"Rally-ho! Happy fit. Well, off to the sanctuary then," the two dwarves said. They stepped out of the way for the five of us.

"Stop, thief!" we heard someone yell. A short, with purple hair ran past us. She was wearing a red top with pink bottoms. She had on yellow leggings and large boots. A moogle flew behind her. It was Eiko Carol. She took off toward what I knew as the Mountain Pass. The dwarves slowly chased after her.

"Let's get her," Zidane said. "If she's a thief, she should be caught."

"Ok," I said. Zidane led us down the path and through the large groups of vines. We soon reached an opening in the mountain. To my left, I saw the large Iifa Tree. We quickly followed the girl down the right path. We chased her up a ladder and soon out to a large open plain. Behind us was Conde Petie. I stared at it, wondering if the guards even moved past the exit to chase Eiko. The Iifa Tree was still in sight, and to our left was Madain Sari.

"Let's go this way," I said, leading them to Madain Sari. The five of us walked into the wrecked entrance of Madain Sari. I looked around, seeing a small part of a red ball. It was the top of a moogle. "Look there," I whispered, pointing to the moogle.

"Come on out," Garnet said. "We won't hurt." The moogle flew on out and waddled up to her. I saw Eiko pop her head out from behind a rock.

"Hey," I said. "What's your name? We're friendly. My name is Leo. This is Garnet, Zidane, Vivi, and Quina."

"E-Eiko Carol," the girl replied. She walked out from behind the rock. The ground rumbled and smoke came from where I knew the wall of summons was.

"I'll take care of that," Zidane said, sprinting off toward the smoke. As soon as he left the area, a dozen, no, two dozen moogle came out from behind the rubble. Another rumble began, followed by large amounts of the sounds of metal hitting metal.

"I'll go and check that out," I said, running off toward the noise. When I arrived on the scene, I saw Zidane and a red haired guy. His hair was knotty, and he wore a green tank top and green pants. He had a beard, and his hands were covered by claws, which kind of reminded me of Wolverine. The man was Amarant. Amarant wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and jumped to the top of the wall. Zidane looked up as Amarant disappeared out of view.

"Who was he?" Zidane asked.

"Amarant, the bounty hunter," I told him.

I heard footsteps and turned around. "Is everything ok?" Garnet asked. Zidane turned and faced her. He grinned and chuckled.

"Yup, nothing to worry about," he said.

"Umm, you guys look hungry," I heard Eiko say. "I can make you something."

"Ok, that sounds good," Zidane said. Eiko ran off with some moogle to collect the items. Soon, she came back, offering a place to sit inside her house. We all walked into the clustered, dirty house. The five of us took a seat at the floor level table and waited for the food. Soon, the food was brought out and placed in front of us. A mix between meals consisting of oglop and fish surrounded the table. We all dug into the food, and surprising good. I never thought that oglop tasted so good. When the meal was over, I sighed in delight. Zidane belched.

"Thanks, that was great!" he exclaimed. Eiko blushed.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yup!" I noticed Garnet head outside and I decided to follow her. She stood at a wall, looking up at the stars.

"Hey," I said.

"Hi," she replied. "I just want to apologize for earlier today."

"It's fine, don't worry about it," I told her.

"No, it's not," she said, looking away. "From the day I met you, I never believed you were in a game, until we were in Lindblum. Cid showed me the prophecy and it said about a person from another world connected to Gaia." She turned to me. "That person is you, if you didn't know. Ever since then, I've noticed how brave you are." She grabbed my arm and pulled up the sleeve, revealing the bandages on my arms.

"Well, I guess," I said. "When I was here, I didn't believe I was in a game, but I quickly realized it. When I saw you, I thought, well, still l think that you are the most beautiful person I've ever seen. You trust me when no one else does."

"I'm just saying this, and I don't know if you feel the same way, but I kind of like you," Garnet said. I was shocked.

"Well, umm," I stuttered.

"No, just forget I said that," she told me, looking away.

"How could I," I slowly began, "when I feel the same way." She turned her head toward me and I saw a sparkle in her eyes. A smile grew across her face.

"Really?!" she exclaimed.

"Yup," I said, smiling. She wrapped her arms around me, laughing.

"I'm so happy."

"Me too," I told her.

"Hey, you two, time to get to sleep!" I heard Zidane shout. Garnet and I walked in and lay down on the beds placed on the floor. Garnet smiled at me before I fell into a deep sleep.


	15. Update!

Hello, everyone who reads this fanfiction anymore. I just want to thank the people who have favorite, followed, and/or commented on my Final Fantasy IX fanfiction. I just want you all to know that my laptop that I have been using to work on this fanfiction, no my bulky desktop that I'm using now, broke. Since my files of my fanfiction and ideas for it are on that broken laptop, I will be taking a short break from my fanfiction. This break will only be about a week or two, starting on Monday, July 22, 2013. I will be working on the story line, the back story, and how Leo (the main character) will affect everything. I will also be taking time to finish my current, or about 10th, complete play through of the game. If you all want to see a certain event in the story line to happen, or have me do a fanfiction on a certain game, anime, book, movie, or manga, please leave a comment. Also, I will rarely do a fanfiction shipping two characters or sappy romance fanfictions, not that I have anything against them. I will mainly do Self Inserts (S.I.) and try to make them good and enjoyable. I know that S.I.'s are not the most popular genre of fanfiction, I just enjoy them and find them more enjoyable to read, especially if the characters that are being inserted have a strong back story and affect the story in a major-ish way. Anyway, I'll start working on the next chapter of the Final Fantasy IX fanfiction soon, and I also have been gathering ideas on a Self Insert (sorry if you hate S.I.'s) of one of my favorite anime's. I will not reveal which of my favorite's I'm doing, but I'm going to try and make it pretty good. Anyway, I hope you look forward to my FFIX fanfiction's next chapter and my future fanfictions.


	16. Chapter 14

*Had this all story lined out, so it didn't take me as long as I thought. Only a couple of hours on it? Not bad at all. I hope you like it. Next chapter will be a short one and will be up tomorrow. Enjoy!*

Chapter 14: The Tree of the Mist

I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping. I sat up slowly in my cot and beams of sunlight shone on my face. I stood up and stretched, and popped my fingers. I slowly and silently walked out of the hut. I took a deep breath of air, smelling the morning dew that was just forming on the ground. I looked over the edge of the bridge leading to the small hut. I looked down at the fish jumping in and out of the water. Their bright colors glimmered in the sunrise. This is why I loved Gaia. The beauty of this world. The nature. I smiled at the thought of this. I heard a footstep to my left. I turned and saw Garnet standing there. And there was one more reason why I loved Gaia. Her. Light reflected off her smooth face, creating an image of an angel. Her outfit, even if it was dirty, matched her personality and body perfectly. I chuckled. I can't believe I was in love with a video game character. Garnet's brown hair blew in the small gusts of wind that passed us.

"Good morning," she said to me.

"Same to you," I replied. She joined me at looking at our surroundings. I favored these moments alone with her. My palms grew sweaty and my heart raced.

"Hey, I have a quick question," she told me.

"Ask away," I told her.

"Are we going to tell anyone about our feelings toward each other?" she asked.

"Nope," I said. "It's a secret between both of us."

"Ok, I agree," Garnet said. We stood there in silence, our shoulders touching.

"I know a great lookout," I said, breaking the silence. "Want to see it?"

"I would love to!" she exclaimed. We began walking to the place I told her about when she put her hand in mine. We both blushed and chuckled. Garnet and I walked hand in hand back to the mountain pass and I led her up on top of a large rock. "Wow!" she gasped. Her eyes grew wider and she smiled.

This place overlooked the whole northern plains of the Outer Continent. You could clearly see the Iifa Tree. Mainly wild creatures scurried about across the plains in packs, and many types of rare forests were visible from here. Also, you could see the sun rise, which was beautiful. When I focused my sight on the Iifa Tree, I noticed mist emerging from its roots.

"No," I whispered, just remembering the plot.

"What?" Garnet asked.

"We have to go back and tell everyone about this," I told her.

"About what?"

"The mist! It's coming from the Iifa Tree! I just remembered that to stop the creation of mist, we must destroy the 'brain' of the tree!" I exclaimed. I crouched down and instructed her to put her arms on my shoulders. I was giving her a piggy back ride. I ran through the mountain pass and the large open field leading to Madain Sari. I stopped and let her get off at the entrance and then we ran to Eiko's hut. I walked in, out of breath, and started mumbling, trying to get my breath. I fell back down onto my cot and heard Garnet laugh.

"We were just out for a little walk when Leo noticed the mist coming from the roots of the Iifa Tree. He told me that in order to remove the mist from the world, we must kill the 'brain' of the Iifa Tree," Garnet informed them. I finally stopped panting and my chest stopped burning. I stood up and nodded.

"Okay, well let's go," Zidane said. "We have to get rid of the mist."

"Well, let's first think of a plan," I said. I pulled out the world map Cid gave us. I spread it out on the table and pointed to Madain Sari. "We're here." I pointed to the Iifa Tree. "We want to get here. Once we are inside it, we can take a small elevator down to the next floor. We then have to have a gargant carry us all down the bottom level. That's where we'll find the mind of the mist."

"Sounds simple enough," Zidane said. "Let's get to it!" We packed whatever we needed and headed out toward the Iifa Tree. We trekked across the plains of the Outer Continent, avoiding a conflict with the native species as much as possible, but there were some instances where we needed to eliminate a Blazer Beetle or a Troll. But soon enough, we reached the Iifa Tree.

Roots lay on the ground and imbedded in the ground tangled with each other. Air holes were poked in them and mist spilled out from them. A large, twisting root led to an archway that led to the inside of the tree. Zidane ran at the entrance, but at the beginning of the root bridge, he was stopped by a force field.

"What was that?" Zidane asked.

"It was a seal put in place by an eidolon," Eiko said.

"How do you get rid of it?"

"I'm going to ask the eidolon to come back. The summoner's horn I have allows us to communicate with the eidolons. Watch!" Eiko approached where the barrier stood and started to do weird arm movements. We all stared at her in confusion.

"Boom boomb boom! Boom boomb boom! By the light of our spirits, I call upon thee! Answer my call! Wherever your soul may be!" Eiko shouted. A minute passed, and then the barrier shattered like glass.

"Was that magic?" Vivi asked.

"Nope," Eiko replied.

"Then why did you do the hand movements?" he asked.

"It was just for show. Anyway, let's get going." We all walked into the Iifa tree, Garnet and I walking together and behind the rest of the group. We ran through a couple of halls and doorways until we reached a large open room with a center circle in it. Zidane tapped it with his foot and it began to emit a light.

"Umm," he stuttered.

"Why don't you try standing on it?" I asked him.

"Good idea," he said. "We should all try it."

"B-but, is anyone else afraid of heights?" Vivi asked.

"You look so helpless. Don't leave my side if you want to come with us," Eiko replied.

"O-okay," he said and obeyed Eiko. We all stepped onto the platform and it slowly descended to the next floor. We all jumped off it and reached another one of this and tried the same thing. This elevator was a little bit further up than the other one, but we quickly reach the floor below us. This floor did not have an elevator-type device. Rather, a gargant climbed down the center column that led to the bottom of the tree. It stopped where we were and waited for us. On its back was a large leaf that held all of us as we jumped onto it. We stood there waiting for something to happen. The gargant led us down the tree and through the mist. Suddenly, I heard Zidane make a little noise.

"Umm, guys, you might want to get ready," he said. I drew my sword.

"Why?" I asked. Immediately after I asked that, my blade was locked in with a zombie's. "Never mind," I grunted. I pushed him away and kicked him off the leaf. "Garnet, get behind me. Quina, Eiko, and Vivi, protect Garnet," I instructed. Zombies jumped from the walls, trying to hit us off, but they were failing at that. But when we through the waves of zombies were done, a deep roar echoed down the tree. A shadow covered part of the leaf and soon, a large object stood in front of me.

This monster had pink skin. Parts of the skin were missing and replaced by holes in its bodies. Its eyes were yellow and stared directly into mine. It had tan wings and its four legs were made up out of skulls.

"This is unfair!" I shouted. It was a dracozombie. I ran at it and slashed away, only to be hit into the leaf. My shoulder stung and I slowly stood back up. "Ow," I stated. I jumped up into the air and stabbed my sword down on its head. "Vivi cast a life spell on it, now!" I exclaimed.

"Roger that!" he said. He stuck out his hands and his eyes disappeared. His hands glowed a white light and a cross hologram emerged from them. It landed on the face of the dracozombie and soon, the dracozombie disintegrated. All that was left was a skull. I kicked it off the leaf, listening to the echoing of it hitting the walls.

"Well, that's over," I said. The gargant sped to a halt and we were all thrown off it and onto a landing. Down below us was an out cropping in the shape of a head. The boss battle was soon to happen. I head the line, "I cannot lie". I leapt down to the outcropping and saw something moving near the bottom of the tree. Crap. It was him. Soulcage. "Zidane, Garnet, and Vivi, come here," I said. They all gathered around me. "See that thing down there?" They all nodded. "That's Soulcage, the 'brain' of the Tree. We have to destroy it to destroy the mist. You all ready?"

"Yup!" they all exclaimed, readying their weapons. Soon, Soulcage appeared in front of us and roared. His legs were roots and his arms and shoulders were stone. The bottoms of his shoulders were leaves, and his head had two spears and a gem in the middle. Seeing this in real life still haunts my dreams.

Zidane leapt at it and slashed at its head spears. They easily were sliced off and Zidane was already attacking another time. He had grabbed onto its shoulder and began to swing away at it. I ran at it and attacked its roots.

"Vivi!" I shouted.

"Yeah?"

"Use fire on it!" I shouted. I didn't realize I made a huge mistake. Soulcage lit on fire and his eyes turned red. Fire strengthened it. Damn it. I continued to attack it until it changed targets. I saw it look at Garnet and saw it's arm extend. A large root with a sharp end sped straight toward her. If only I told Vivi to use life instead of fire. This wouldn't be happening. I ran toward Garnet and pushed her out of the way. I heard a _SHUNK_ and a pain grew in my chest. I looked down and saw the root through my chest. Blood had soaked my shirt and soon, it was dripping onto the floor. I coughed and spit up blood.

I looked to my right and saw Garnet staring at me in horror at the sight she saw. Me, up in the air, with a root through my chest. I smiled at her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because," I began, coughing, "I love you." The root retracted back into Soulcage and I fell onto the floor. My vision grew blurry and an image of Garnet appeared. I truly did love her. This was the end of the line for me. It was game over. Only this time, I had no continues or extra lives. My one life was now gone. I had a good run. Made it almost halfway through the storyline that I knew as _Final Fantasy IX_. I heard Garnet crying and yelling my name before my vision grew black and I couldn't hear anymore.

I was dead.


	17. Chapter 15

*This chapter is from Garnet's point of view*

Chapter 15: Loved Ones

Tears dripped from my eyes, landing on Leo's corpse. He couldn't be dead! "LEO!" I shouted. My cries echoed inside the tree. "Why did you die?" I continued crying over his death as the others fought Soulcage. Those last words he said to me: "I love you". More tears streamed from my eyes. I slowly stood and made my hand into a fist.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" I yelled at Soulcage. I felt a pain in my body like lightning was going through it. I saw the image of Ramuh appear before me. A large lightning bolt formed above Soulcage and struck it. The monster struggled to move for a couple of seconds, howled, then melted. Ramuh disappeared and I fell to my knees. I slowly moved over toward Leo again and hugged his body. I felt a hand on my shoulder and swatted it away. I sat there for a couple of minutes, reliving the past events with Leo. The time he told me I was beautiful in Dali, the contests in Lindbulm, him saving me from Mother. And before. Telling me that he loved me. He didn't have to die to say that or prove it.

"We better get going," Zidane said to me.

"I g-guess," I sobbed. Zidane picked up his body and carried him over to where the gargant was. We all got on stood there in silence. I sat on the floor in a feeble position, still crying over him. Why did I love him though? He was brave, caring, courageous, and will protect me with his life. He was handsome, and mysterious. The gargant slowly came to a stop and we walked off. We headed out of the tree and looked around.

"Would you look at that?!" Zidane exclaimed. "The mist is gone!" Well, I guess one good thing came out of this conflict. I slowly walked in front of the group and headed back to Madain Sari. I was still crying. I couldn't stop crying. The rest of the group followed behind me, not saying a word. He was both dead here and in real life. It wasn't like he had two bodies. His parents, his friends, and anyone he knew would never see him again, and never know that he died. We reached Madain Sari and headed back to Eiko's hut. I stopped at the bridge leading to the hut and relived the conversation I had with his last night. More tears came and I broke down crying and sobbing. Zidane placed his body inside and came out to hug me. I pushed him away.

"I just need some time alone with him," I told him.

"Okay, that's fine," he said, and walked toward the wall of summons. I went inside and lay next to his body. I felt like a part of me was lost. I stroked his brown hair and held his hand in mine. I put my hand over his face so he looked like he was sleeping instead of being dead. I still couldn't ignore the fact that there was a hole through his stomach and blood was still coming out of it. It was like he was still alive.

"Umm, Garnet?" I heard a small voice say. I turned around and saw Vivi standing at the door way.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I think I may have a way to revive him," he said. Those last words, "revive him", echoed in my ears. I rushed to him.

"Do it! Do anything to revive him!" I shouted.

"Okay, but we need to go back to the Black Mage Village," he said.

"That's fine. I'll get Zidane to go too!" I yelled. I ran outside to the wall of summons and found Zidane standing there. "Zidane! You have to come with Vivi and me to the Black Mage Village."

"Okay," he said, and we headed out of Madain Sari. I began sprinting through the mountain pass, but Vivi and Zidane were walking slowly.

"We have to hurry!" I shouted at them. They ran and caught up with me and kept at my pace. We sped through Conde Petie. The sound of footsteps slowed as I exited Conde Petie.

"Why are you stopping, Zidane?" I asked.

"Why are you in such a rush to save Leo?" he asked. That question shocked me. Why was I? Was it because he saved me? Or because he was invaluable.

"Because I love him!" I shouted. I just said the answer. I didn't know I loved him. I just thought I liked him.

"Oh, okay," he said, turning around. "I'll see you when you get back." With that, he walked back toward Madain Sari.

"ZIDANE!" I yelled, and he turned around. "We need you to make it through the forest, please help us."

"Why not," he said, pulling out his dual blade. We continued in silence across the pains, into the forest, and finally, arriving at the Black Mage Village.

"We're here. It may take a few days to make the item we need, sorry," Vivi said.

"I will wait forever if it will revive Leo," I said. I threw some Gil at the man behind the counter at the inn and got us three a room. I collapsed on the cot and faced the wall. I could feel Leo's arms around me from when we hugged for the first time. I could feel his hand on mine, his warmth, and could hear his voice. With his last words still playing themselves in my head, I fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up with a tap on my shoulder. I woke up to Vivi standing above me. "It's done," he said.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"For about 2 days," he said. "I didn't know someone could sleep that long. You've woken up and fallen back asleep a couple of times though."

"Well, let's get going back to Leo!" I said. Zidane was already up and ready to go. We headed out the doorway and through the forest again. Passing through the forest and Conde Petie, I sprinted to Madain Sari, and slid on my knees to Leo's side. A couple of minutes later, Zidane and Vivi arrived. Vivi kneeled on the other side of him and pulled out an item. Glowing red and gold, the item looked like a feather to a giant bird.

"It's called a Phoenix Down. It takes a week to fully work, but it will heal Leo," Vivi told me.

"Ok, use it," I said. Vivi nodded and placed the Phoenix Down on Leo's chest. Feathers fell off it and disappeared once they hit his body. This continued until it finally was gone and the moon had risen. Leo's eyes didn't open, nor did his body move. It had only been half a day. I still had six and a half more days to wait. I lay next to his body and grabbed his arm.

"Leo, you have to wake up," I whispered. I stayed lying next to him for the week that Vivi said it would take. I was about to give up and leave him when suddenly, I felt his arm twitch. His chest wound had sealed up, but his shirt was torn and ripped still. His eyes fluttered open and he tried to sit up. I stopped him and pushed him down. I looked deep into his light blue eyes and put my hand on his cheek. I closed my eyes and moved closer, and soon my lips touched his.


	18. Chapter 16

*This chapter and the rest are in Leo's Point of View.*

Chapter 16: Return of the Barley Clothed Man

Garnet was kissing me. YES! I closed my eyes and put my hands on her back and I sat up. Her lips tasted like vanilla and she smelt like lavender. We heard footsteps by the door and broke apart. I looked to my right to see Zidane staring at us with large, open eyes.

"W-what? Y-you and Leo?!" he asked, stuttering.

"Yeah," Garnet chuckled.

"I'm so happy for you!" he said, hugging us. "But, I guess this means Leo can't be my wingman."

"No, he can't," Garnet said.

"Fine," Zidane said. "We could've picked up chicks together!"

"Zidane, we're only sixteen," I said.

"Right, right," he said, snapping his fingers. "But good for you!" Zidane said. "Don't let her go, ever," he told me.

"I won't," I replied. With that, he walked out of the room, leaving Garnet and I alone again. I looked down at my chest and saw the hole in my shirt where Soulcage killed me. The skin where he stabbed me had a circle around it, and the skin had a red tint to it.

"We'll have to get some clothes made for you," Garnet said. That was true. My jeans were ripped, my shirt had many holes in it. I tried standing up, but Garnet pushed me down again. I chuckled. I heard Zidane shouting outside and Vivi and Eiko rushed in.

"Leo!" Eiko exclaimed. "You're alive!"

"Yeah, he is," Garnet said. "Vivi, I owe you one, big time," she said to him.

"It's nothing," he said.

"This calls for a feast!" Eiko shouted. She ran outside and into another room below us. A minute passed until we heard a scream. It was probably her jewel missing, like in the game. Zidane and Vivi ran down the stairs. Garnet began to, but stopped at the door way.

"Go see what's wrong. I can't move," I told her.

"Okay," she said, smiling. She left the room and in a minute or two, she came back up. Eiko ran through the house and toward the wall of summons. Zidane and Vivi chased after her, and Garnet walked in and sat by me. I still couldn't stop thinking about that kiss. I was basically cloud nine.

"How long have I been dead?" I asked her.

"Well, let's see. It took two days to make the Phoenix Down, then a week to fully work. So just about a week and a half," she said.

"Have you been lying next to me all that time?" I asked. She blushed.

"Y-yeah," she said. I blushed too.

"Why did you?" I asked.

"Because, I love you," she said. She did? I didn't know she did. A scream came from the wall of summons. "Eiko!" Garnet shouted. "It sounded like it came from the Eidolon Wall!" That's what it was called? My bad. I forgot. Anyway, Garnet took off running toward it. I lay back down and looked down at the cut through my stomach. God it burned. I sat up, ignoring the blinding pain in my stomach. I stood up, and stumbled. I braced myself against the wall and coughed. I walked out of the hut ad stumbled to the Eidolon Wall like a zombie. I finally made it to the wall and saw Lani on top of a pillar.

"I'll collect the bounty on you someday!" Lani shouted at Amarant, and she jumped off into the distance. Amarant stood to face Zidane.

"Now fight me!" he shouted.

"You got it!" Zidane said, jumping at him. A couple of hit later, I stepped in. I drew my sword and placed it between them. Zidane hit it and I parried and dodged Amarant's attack.

"Leo!" Garnet shouted.

"Listen, you two. There's no time to fighting. I have a feeling we should head to the Iifa Tree," I said.

"And who are you?" Amarant asked.

"The name is Leo Fujikawa. I've been traveling with Zidane and the others," I said.

"Trust him," Zidane said. "All his hunches have been right before."

"Fine," Amarant said, relaxing. Zidane did the same. Garnet ran to my side and supported me as I began to fall.

"Why did you come out here?" she asked me.

"To stop them from fighting. We have bigger problems."

"Like what?" she asked.

"In the game, Kuja arrived at the Iifa Tree to try and kill Brahne," I said.

"No, not my mother. We have to go and help her!" Garnet said.

"I thought you wanted to throw her off her throne," Zidane told her.

"But she's still my mother," she replied.

"I can understand that," I said. "Let's get going."

"But, Leo, you can't do much in the shape you're in now," Zidane stated.

"It takes more than a pain in my stomach to stop me," I said.

"Which is ironic because that's what killed you," Zidane muttered.

"Let's just go," I said. We headed out of Madain Sari, with Garnet and Zidane supporting me as we walked across the Lucid Plains and headed toward the Iifa Tree. We arrived at the start of the twisting, vine path.

"I need to rest," I told them. Just standing hurt me. I sat down on the ground and lay out, staring into the sky.

"There's no mist," Amarant said.

"That's because we took out the monster that was making it," Eiko told him. There was the sound of a road and I saw a streak of silver in the sky.

"The Silver Dragon!" Garnet and I exclaimed in unison.

"Go, chase it," I said. "I'll be fine here." Zidane, Eiko, Vivi, and Amarant took off running.

"Will you be okay?" Garnet asked me.

"I'll be fine, don't you worry," I told her. The truth is, I was worried.

"Okay," she said and took off after them. I lay there, looking at the entrance of the tree. Damn Soulcage. Why did he have to go after Garnet? I noticed Amarant holding Eiko and Vivi and climbing the side of the tree. Zidane was giving Garnet a piggyback ride as he walked up the side of the tree. I saw where Kuja had landed with his silver dragon. They were almost there to confront him. A couple more feet and they were there. I saw Garnet moving her hands. She was asking him about the war. I looked over to my right and saw a fleet of Alexandrian war vessels approaching the shore.

Soon, two Mistodons appeared and then dropped to the side, dead. Garnet ran down a large vine leading to what I remembered as a shrine to Leviathan. Mistodons followed Zidane, Vivi, Amarant, and Eiko down the vine as they chased Garnet. About five minutes passed and the water by the war fleet turned a bright red. It was Bahamut. A black dragon appeared out of the red water and flew straight up into the sky. I noticed Garnet and the rest of the people running toward me. Kuja took off on his silver dragon, looking at Zidane and Garnet. He looked toward me and raised his hand. Two Mistodons appeared before me and began to crawl at me. I stood up and swung my sword art them, knocking them off the side of the path that they were on. Garnet ran up to me and put my arm over her shoulder. Bahamut shot fire towards Kuja, destroying the landscape around the tree. Kuja stared up into the sky. I knew what he was doing. I braced myself for the purple light that was soon to come. A red eye emerged from the clouds and emitted a purple light. The light followed Bahamut as he cause more destruction everywhere he flew. Soon, Bahamut stopped in his path and turned toward the fleet. He flew directly toward Brahne's ship and shot a fireball straight through it.

"NO!" Garnet screamed. I hugged her, comforting her. She cried into my chest and screamed. Soon, when the chaos was over and the whole Alexandrian fleet was destroyed, Bahamut disappeared. When Kuja flew away and was out of sight, we all walked toward the coast. There we found Brahne's escape pod in ruins, with Brahne on the coast, dying slowly. Garnet walked over toward Brahne and began to talk to her. The rest of us sat in silence, waiting for Garnet. About ten minutes later, Garnet walked toward us.

"Let's go back to Alexandria," she said. She hugged me and said, "I'm finally on the throne."

"Yup," I said.

"But why am I not happy?" she said.

"Because it came too fast," I told her. "This wasn't our plan."

"True," she said. "Let's head back." We found a small boat that was around Conde Petie and boarded the ship with Brahne and sailed back to Alexandria to officially put Garnet on the throne.


	19. Chapter 17

*Cards in the Tetra Master part of the story are based on my collection of cards in my current play through*

Chapter 17: The Post-Brahne Days, Card Tournaments, and Violence

The sun beat down on me as I walked along the streets of Alexandria. It had been a week since we arrived back here. Garnet stayed in the castle, preparing for her coronation, as Zidane sulked over losing her. Vivi, Amarant, Eiko went their separate ways, occasionally walking the streets where we were. I had gotten a whole new wardrobe, thanks to Ruby of Tantalus. I wore a dark red shirt with a blue hoodie over it. I had blue jeans on and wore red gloves. I mysteriously found my mp3 player in my jacket pocket, and it still worked. As I walked, I popped in the ear buds and turned it to "You're Not Alone", since I was in the Final Fantasy IX universe. The world seemed like a more peaceful place since Garnet has been on the throne.

I walked down the street I was on the first day I was here. I remembered the large groups of drunken people, cursing out other people as they ran through the crowds. As I looked down the street, it seemed empty. It must have just been the nightlife that was busy. I walked into a wooden building with swaying doors on it. I took out my ear buds and turned my mp3 off as my eyes adjusted to the change in lighting. I was soon greeting with a chorus of my name and glasses rising in the air.

"What's this for?" I asked, as everyone in the bar took a drink of what was in there cups. Blank, Cinna, and the whole Tantalus gang was here. I pulled down my hood, and chuckled.

"Zidane told us all about your adventure," Blank said. "You, my friend, are awesome!"

"Hey, there, Leo," I heard Baku say. "Every think about joining Tantalus?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, you got our canary," he said. "That was Tantalus' mission." I chuckled and blushed.

"Well, I actually didn't really have the mission in mind. I just tried to be a likable person and act natural," I told him.

"But you still accomplished out mission, my little, human friend."

"I guess," I began.

"Of course ya did!" I heard Zidane exclaim. I felt an arm around my shoulders and saw Zidane standing next to me, smiling. "You gotta join Tantalus. We could be, let's see," he began, "how do you people put it? Bros."

"Really? How did you know about Earth and their 'bro' sayings," I asked.

"Oh, Doctor Tot," he said. "He has plenty of books about Earth."

"Interesting," I muttered. "I mean, it would be cool to join Tantalus."

"Sleep on it," Baku said. "We're not in a rush."

"Okay," I said. "Oh, and everyone, thanks a lot. For everything."

"No problem," they all shouted.

"How was the afterlife?" Cinna said.

"Well, it was dark, cold, and just felt like you were spinning a lot. It's sort of like an infinite dream of whatever you love. It was peaceful, but it still hurt," I told him.

"Cool," he said.

"Zidane, I'm looking for some new weapons, care to tag along?" I asked.

"Weapons?! I would love to!" he shouted.

"Hey, Leo," I heard a girl say. It was Ruby. "Can I talk to you for a little?"

"Umm, sure?" I said, following her behind the bar. She led me into a small room where the extra kegs of beer were stored.

"Can I say that you look very handsome?" she said. "That outfit fits you perfectly."

"Well, thanks," I said. "You picked it out."

"I personally want you to join Tantalus," she said, pushing me onto a chair and getting closer to me. "I heard you and the princess kissed. That must mean you are one heck of a man."

"Umm," I stuttered. A she grew closer and closer, I managed to say, "I was planning on joining in the first place."

"Perfect," she said, still not getting off me.

"About what you're doing," I said.

"What about it?" she asked. Our noses were now touching.

"I'm involved with Garnet, so I can't do that," I told her.

"Oh, yeah, I didn't know that you two were a thing now," she said, standing up. "I just thought it was a kiss."

"No it's a thing. Thanks for the offer, but no thanks," I said.

"No problem, sweet cheeks," she said, winking. I walked out of the room, and met up with Zidane at the door.

"Ready?"

"Yup," he replied.

"See ya, guys!" I said.

"See ya," they all replied. I saw Ruby blow me a kiss, and I blushed.

"Well, we're the best weapons shop? You're the expert," I said.

"There's a great one down this road," he told me. "Follow me!" This weapon shopping seemed to cheer him up. The rest of the day was spent looking at weapons and Zidane flirting with chicks that walked by. We had hit every weapon shop by sundown and I had found the perfect weapon for me. I katana like before, with a golden hilt in the shape of a dragon and a dagger stored into the hilt. The blade was made of mythril. Zidane on the other hand, had been rejected by almost every girl in Alexandria, and was still cheery, since he had bought almost every that was on sale. We headed back into the bar and sat down at a table. I let out a sigh of relief as my legs were sore.

"You're tired already?" Zidane asked.

"Well excuse me for dying about a week ago and still hurting," I said. A moment of silence passed and then we both erupted into laughter. Ruby came out of the back room with a yawn.

"What's the commotion for?" she asked.

"You were asleep?" I asked. "It's only nine o' clock."

"I didn't get much sleep last night," she said. "Oh, your rooms are clean."

"Okay," Zidane said.

"G' night, dude," Zidane said.

"'Night," I replied. Zidane walked upstairs and I heard him close his door and drop all his daggers on the floor. Ruby came over to me and sat across from me.

"So, are you going to join Tantalus?" she asked

"Yup," I said. "I'll tell Baku tomorrow morning."

"That's great. You'll love it in Tantalus," she said.

"I can tell that I will," I said. Ruby stretched and yawned.

"Well, I'm heading to bed. See ya later," she said.

"See ya later," I replied. "If you have trouble sleeping, listen to some music," I said, tossing her my mp3 player. "It helps me."

"Thanks, sweetie," she said, with a wink.

"No problem," I chuckled. "Well, good night."

"'Night," she replied while walking into the back room. I jumped over the hole in the stairs and walked up the rest and into the room at the end of the hall. I lay in my bed and picked up the book I had been reading, "The Creatures of Gaia and Everything about Them". Doctor Tot had let me borrow it, so I could get used to this world.

Ruby had lent us all rooms above the bar she owned since we were all members of Tantalus, so that's where we'll stay until another unfortunate event occurs, or perhaps a fortunate event. Who knows? I quickly fell asleep thinking about going to see Garnet in a couple of days.

I woke up with the sound of banging on my door. It was Zidane.

"C'mon man! Wake up!" he shouted.

"I'm up, I'm up," I said. I walked to the door and opened it. I walked downstairs, still half asleep and sat and a table.

"So what's your answer?" Baku asked.

"I'm joining," I told him. The bar was filled with cheers and applause.

"A drink for the man!" Baku yelled. Ruby walked toward me and placed a mug in front of me. I looked down into it at the red fluid swirling around.

"I don't think I should-"

"C'mon, dude, you're a man now!" Zidane said.

"Yup, the coming of age," Blank said, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye with his finger.

"Ok," I said.

"To Leo!" Baku exclaimed, raising his glass. Everyone else followed his actions, waiting for me.

"To me!" I exclaimed, raising my glass. We all swallowed down the wine and the rest of Tantalus cheered.

"Welcome to the gang," Marcus said, patting me on the back.

"Thanks," I said.

"LEO!" I heard a deep voice shout. The voice was very familiar, like I knew this person.

"It can't be-" Zidane began. A tall man with a pointed hat stood in the doorway. He was dressed in full iron armor and stood at attention. "Rusty!" the whole bar exclaimed.

"Really?" he asked. "Leo, Garnet has requested a conference with you."

"Okay," I said, following him out of the bar. We walked to the docks and a boat arrived, almost as soon as we stepped on the round, cement platform. Steiner got on the boat and I followed. The boat took off, and in a minute, we arrived at the castle. I was greeted by the angry face of Beatrix as she reluctantly led me to Garnet's room. Beatrix opened the door and let me in, shutting the door behind me. As soon as the door closed, Garnet tackled me.

"I'm so happy to see you!" she exclaimed. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing fine. I still hurt every once in a while," I told her. She stood up and I did too. I looked at her and my jaw dropped. Her hair was down and fell onto her shoulders and her dress matched her perfectly. The dress was a simple, white dress, but made her look radiant. "You look amazing," I told her.

"You really think so?" she asked.

"Yeah. You look perfect," I said.

"Thanks," she said, blushing. "You look great yourself."

"Thanks." Garnet hugged me. She looked straight into my eyes and got closer. Her lips touched mine as the door opened.

"W-w-what?!" I heard someone shout. Garnet and I broke apart, only to find Beatrix standing there. "What are you doing to the queen?!" Her hand gripped her sword and she unsheathed it, bringing the tip to meet my throat.

"Well, Garnet can explain," I said to her.

"Leo and I are together," Garnet told Beatrix, grabbing the sword and pulling it away from Beatrix.

"What do you mean, my queen?"

"We are in love," Garnet answered.

"Are you sure?" Beatrix asked, glaring at me.

"Listen," I said. "I died for her."

"Then how are you here now?" Beatrix asked suspiciously.

"Well, Vivi, the black mage, went to a village to get a phoenix down and then we used it on him," Garnet explained.

"But why kiss him?" Beatrix asked. "He's part of the thieves' group now!"

"Because I love him, and now that he's welcome with open arms in this world, I love him even more!" she yelled, grabbing my head and pulling it towards her self's. We kissed and I heard Beatrix pick up her sword again, and lunged at me. Garnet and I broke apart and I jumped out of the way.

"Beatrix, stop," Garnet ordered.

"Yes, my queen," she said, sheathing her sword.

"Steiner and you must not be involved with any funny business or violence toward Leo, Zidane, Vivi, Amarant, or Eiko," Garnet told Beatrix. "Now go tell that to Steiner."

"Yes, my queen," Beatrix said, exiting the room. When she was gone, Garnet turned to face me.

"So are you excited?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I am. Peace if finally among us," she said.

"Hopefully it stays that way," I told her.

"Yeah, especially since Kuja is out there and we don't know where."

"We'll get to kill him soon enough," I reassured her.

"Really?"

"Yeah. And then the world will actually be and complete peace," I said.

"Are you leaving soon?" she asked.

"No," I answered, "why?"

"I just want to spend more time with you," she replied.

"Trust me, I'm not leaving," I told her. "All of you are like a family to me. I would never leave if I had a choice. If we're going by the game, we still have a lot to cover before the story ends."

"But we'll never know if that's true, since this is life, not a game."

"True, true," I said. I heard metallic clanging from down the hall. It grew louder and louder until Steiner broke through the door.

"I will not get violent toward you, Leo, but if you ever hurt the queen, you will be killed and there will be no phoenix downs," he threatened.

"I won't hurt her, ever," I told Steiner. "I promise, Rusty."

"If you do," he said. His hand was on his sword's hilt.

"STEINER!" Garnet yelled.

"Okay, okay," he said. "Be careful around that thief, my queen."

"He's not a thief, but okay." Steiner walked out of the room, leaving Garnet and I along once again.

"Zidane wants to take a trip to Treno later. I'm going to go with him, you know, cheer him up."

"That sounds fine," Garnet said to me.

"You're okay with it?"

"Yeah. He's your friend. That's what friends are for," she answered.

"Okay," I replied. "I'll attend your coronation, I promise." The door opened again.

"My queen, it is time," Beatrix said.

"I'll see you later," I told Garnet.

"See you," she said, kissing my cheek. I walked out of the room and down the stairs. I walked out of the castle and took the boat back to the city. I ran toward the castle where the coronation was beginning and stood in the back of the crowd. I saw Garnet come out of the castle and sit on the chair that Brahne once sat on. Beatrix and Steiner came out with a crown and placed it on Garnet's head. The crowd burst out with applause. Garnet raised her hand and stood up.

"Thank you, people of Alexandria. With my rule over this city, I will bring forth an era of peace. No harsh ruling will be placed upon you, the citizens. I will make everyone equal and no one will be discriminated. I will not get Alexandria involved with any wars or dangerous foreign relations. I hope that you will support me in my time on the throne," Garnet told the crowd. Cheers erupted a few seconds later and flowers were thrown into the air. The new queen Garnet walked back into the castle, and the crowd disbanded. I walked back towards the bar and found Zidane standing near the door.

"You ready to head to Treno?" Zidane asked. Eiko, Vivi, Amarant and Doctor Tot were all standing in the bar.

"Yup," I said. We walked out of the bar and toward the entrance of Gargant Roo. Doctor Tot called a Gargant for us and we all hopped in.

"The mist has lightened," Zidane said.

"Yeah, thanks to us defeating that Soulcage or whatever," Eiko said.

"So much for the Mist Continent," Zidane laughed. I chuckled. Zidane was still making jokes despite his sorrow for Garnet becoming queen. The Gargant came to a halt a little bit later, and we all got out and climbed the ladder up to Doctor Tot's research center.

"I heard that there's an annual card tournament being held right now," Zidane said.

"That is true," Doctor Tot said.

"I was thinking about entering it," Zidane told him.

"I might too, now that I think about it," I said.

"Do you know how to play Tetra Master?" Doctor Tot asked.

"Well, kinda," I said.

"I'll teach you," the doctor said. He pulled a table up and handed me five cards. There were two mimics, two mandragoras, and a Zaghnol card.

"Now, there are four values on a card," Doctor Tot explained, placing down a Hedgehog Pie card. The values were 3P60. "The 3 is the power, meaning the damage. The P is the type of class it is, which is a physical class. The 6 is the physical defense, the defense from physical class cards' attacks. Finally, the 0 is the magical defense, the defense from magical class cards' attacks. Here's a damage chart for the attack values," Tot told me.

I studied my cards and the value sheet Tot gave me, and decided a card. I chose a Mandragora card with the values of 1M01. The on the card were pointing up, diagonal left-down, and right. The Hedgehog Pie card Doctor Tot placed had the arrows pointing down, left, right, and diagonal left-up. I placed my card to the top right of his card and it automatically captured his card. This match carried on until it was a six to four win for me.

"Thanks for the lesson, Doctor Tot," I said.

"No problem," he replied. "If you ever need any practice, find me." Zidane and I walked down the stairs and toward the card arena. We both entered and soon began the first round. I was put up against a child and I quickly defeated him using the hand of a Sand Golem, Flan, Mimic, Cerberus, and Troll. Doctor Tot had given me these cards to start off with. I won a strong Sand Golem from him with the arrows pointing in all directions besides diagonal right-down and up. The next match was against a middle aged man.

This match was more of a challenge, but I still won using the same cards, and got a Zaghnol in return. The next match was the semi finals and I was up against Zidane. He had a hand of two Sand Golems, a flan, two Hedgehog Pies, and one Mandragora. It was an extremely close match, being 4 to 4 until the last card was played, and it was Zidane's. He had a Mandragora placed against my Sand Golem. Since my Sand Golem had no Magic Defense, it was extremely easy to take down. This declared the match a 6 to 4 win for Zidane. And the next match was the championship match between Zidane and Cid, the one who used only Oglop cards with 1P10 as their values. Zidane would have no problem defeating him. A minute or two passed and Zidane came out of the arena with a cheer. He had won. Cid followed him out, congratulating Zidane. Eiko then ran up to us panting.

"What's wrong, my child?" Cid asked her.

"Mog told me that something bad is happening in Alexandria!" Eiko yelled.

"To the Hilda Garde II!" Cid said. We followed him to his massive airship and it took off. Being the first airship to fly without mist, it was unstable and shaky. Vivi, who we had found on the way to the airship, was stumbling toward the middle of the ship. But I heard Eiko say something. Next thing I know, she was leaping off the airship toward the city of Alexandria.

"Hurry and land this thing!" Zidane yelled.

"On it!" Cid replied and walked off. The airship began to descend and soon, it touched by the airship docks at the back of the castle. I jumped off and ran to the top of one of the buildings. I leapt across them, unsheathing the new katana I bought and trying to find people that needed help. I stopped on one building. It sounded like there was a scream, but the voice was familiar. I looked down at the streets and saw Beatrix and Garnet standing back to back, fighting off four Mistodons. I jumped down and slashed at two of them. They were easily killed. I ran through Steiner and Beatrix, killing the last two.

"You're welcome," I said to them, and ran off. I stuck down any monster that was in my path until I reached the round market place of the city. I stared at the castle, noticing the large structure that had erupted out of hit. I saw Garnet and Eiko on it. Bright, white wings suddenly sprouted from the purple structure, and I saw the sky turn red. Bahamut came down from the sky and began to decimate the whole city. Fireballs were shot at the castle, but no damage was caused. The houses around me were in ruin and lifeless bodies lay on the ground. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around. I found Blank, Marcus, Cinna, Ruby, and Baku standing there with their weapons unsheathed.

"Get to Cid's airship. He'll get you to safety," I told them.

"No," Baku said. "We're a gang, we stick together."

"NO!" I yelled. "Listen to me! I have to save everyone I can, starting with you five. Get to the airship now!"

"Fine," Baku said. "You heard him gang. Let's go!" The Tantalus members ran toward Cid's airship as Bahamut began to destroy the castle. Bricks fell off the wall and the castle began to be destroyed. Soon, a blinding white light came from where Garnet was standing and the platform they were one began to collapse. Zidane was on the platform, holding Garnet in his arms, while the platform fell. Eiko threw a rope to them and Zidane caught it. The castle collapsed, leaving Zidane, Eiko, and Garnet to find a way down. I ran a close as I could to them and they were slowly lowering toward the ground. I stood underneath Garnet and yelled for her to jump. She let go, falling toward me. She landing in my arms and I helped her stand next to me. Zidane was next. He fell next to me, his arms over my shoulder.

"My hero!" he jokingly exclaimed.

"Shut it," I said, laughing. "You're next, Eiko!" I yelled. She slid down the rope and fell off. She landed in Zidane's arms, kissing his cheek.

"Where to now?" Zidane asked.

"To Cid's airship," I answered. I picked up Garnet and we ran to the airship. I looked into the sky, finding the eye that was at The Iifa Tree staring down at us. A purple light filled the town and my vision grew dark. It was Garland.


End file.
